September

Posted on September 18, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Well I managed to finish painting the thirty strong unit of Celts from Warlord Games. All that remains is to finish the movement tray and the shields. The shields can wait because the transfers provided by Warlord were frankly very disappointing. They looked as if they had been printed on a cheap laser printer that was running low on toner. I’ll wait until I get to Salute and get some shield transfers from Little Big Man Studios.

http://www.littlebigmenstudios.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_173_182&products_id=2046

Next on the workbench are some Ork Planes from Puppet’s War which I will be using as proxy Deth Kopters in my Orky K Army

August progress

Posted on August 25, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Here are some work in progress shots of my command vehicle used in my Not DKK Army. Vehicle by Ramshackle Games from the recent Kickstarter.

Undercoat and the start of weathering

Weathering finished and dozer blade.

Rubbing away the white paint. I used the Hairspray Technique for this. It is a bit disheartening to spend hours painting on weathering for it all to be painted over.

Masking for the blue paint

Blue paint applied

Cutting the masking for the black stripes. This camouflage scheme was inspired by the film, “Inception”.

The original design

Black stripes. I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped with the masking and had to do a fair amount of retouching.

Start of muddying up the dozer blade. I used weathering products from AK Interactive.

And the finished result

August progress

Posted on August 12, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

This month is not going to plan and this month’s work is going to probably be finished in September.
Why?

Days out at Wallersee, our local lake.

Mountain walks with Number One Son

And wanting to try out some weathering effects on the Command Vehicle from Ramshackle Games.
Here it is with the chipping waiting for a coat of hairspray.

Then sprayed white then distressed with warm water and a cotton bud. It is slightly depressing to see the hours worth of painting disappearing under a coat of paint only to reveal a small part.

Next I get to try out some AK Interactive weathering products on the plough. So far my impression that it isn’t that amazing. It’s basically an expensive jar of Humbrol paint. This may change with more use. Next to the plough you can see that I have been making a start on the Celts. It has been a bit of a slog, clipping, cleaning mold lines, basing and then painting the flesh.

This is the unit with the flesh starting to take form. I’m using Foundry paints for this. Standing on a pot is the unit champian.

A new Kickstarter project I’m backing

Posted on August 11, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

This is a project I’m backing. They look like old skool GW Orcs.

They have a little bit of this vibe going on
http://www.solegends.com/citboxes/pbs3whfbregs/index.htm
Thirty figures, twenty of them being different poses with full command for thirty eight quid! That’s including international postage. Sounds like a bargain to me.

What is on August’s workbench?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

This is a unit of thirty Celt warriors for my Albion WHFB army.

A new figure from Hasslefree

Posted on July 22, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Some of you have suffered my wittering on about a “Not Empire” army. This just popped up. The image is Hasslefree’s. Very nice and if I make it to Salute next year it will definitely be on my shopping list.

Scribd

Posted on July 22, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Am I the last person to the party with this resource?
http://www.scribd.com
I just spent an afternoon reading and adding to my “Library” all the books that I had thought of tracking down on eBay.
Warhammer Ancient Battles for forty quid? I don’t think so. Most of these titles I’d only look at once or twice a year so money (I don’t have anyway) saved.

July’s Workbench

Posted on July 7, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

This month I will mostly be painting two squads of Iron Brotherhood troops. I got these from the Ramshackle Games Kickstarter last year. I will be using them as zombie troops in my Not DKK Army alongside the miniatures from Anvil Industries (already painted) and the Iron Empire troops from the Raging Heroes Kickstarter. I plan to add some real DKK and the Leviathan from Dreamforge Games.

If there is time I will also paint the APC from Ramshackle.

June’s finished work

Posted on July 7, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Jason Wiebe’s Gangnam Goblins

Snotling Pump Wagon

A snotling base. Only another twenty odd to go for my Snotling army.

A slight delay

Posted on July 1, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

This month’s workbench will start a couple of days late. I’m just finishing off some of my all time favourites, Snotlings.

24th (or the 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot

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24th (or the 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot

Here is my first unit of Redcoats finished. I am very happy with the finished result. Apart from the two casualties, who are from Offensive Miniatures, the Company is made up of Foundry figures (sculpted by the Perrys). The bases are from 4Ground drilled and fitted with neodymium magnets. The movement tray I made. Standards are by GMB Designs.

Another four Companies to go, two Highland Flank Companies, a Company of Portuguese Foot, three Companies of Cavalry and two Artillery.

The wife is away cheffing at The Taste of London festival so painting time has been reduced this week. However I am using what time I have by making more Napoleonic movement trays. I’ll post how I make them, it is a fairly simple job.

Can you tell what it is yet? Part Three

Posted on June 16, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Not the most amazing joinery, but it kept me busy for a week which is always a bonus. The light takes a 20W Halogen bulb which is a bit dim. Plus it is “Warm White” and I work in “Cool White”. There are LEDs in the same fitting, but some Amazon reviews mentioned a flickering effect if the transformer for the light is not suitable.
The light is a Nuova by Veneta Lumi.
I’m going to finish the last Job on the old tray and start the next on this.

Can you tell what it is yet? Part 2

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Can you tell what it is yet? Part 2

This is my current painting set up while I am between houses and I just fancied having something a bit more tailored for my needs, rather than an old tray.

Can you tell what it is yet?

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Can you tell what it is yet?

Can you tell what it is yet?
A little side project.

A new bit of kit. Almost. Well not really

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A new bit of kit. Almost. Well not really

Warning this contains product placement!
This is nothing new or revolutionary, it’s just a bulldog clip holding some hand towel. But it is something we all use in some form or another. Something to wipe your brushes on.
I started off, like many I suppose, with hand towels from the toilets at work. These did me for many years. I still have a couple of packs left, now used for drying resin pieces after being scrubbed in bicarb solution. Then when I bought a house with my now Wife I was introduced to kitchen towel. Definitely a step up in the right direction. About two years ago I started to take painting a little more seriously. About this time my Wife started to work for her friend Jane at The Begging Bowl, London.
Note: if you want possibly the best Thai food outside of Thailand at non wallet bursting prices try this place. Jane, the Owner/Head Chef, worked under David Thompson (Goggle him) at NAM. *
After a few weeks I was invited down for lunch. When I went to freshen up I was struck by the sheer quality of the hand towels. Soft and luxurious almost like cotton. Brush heaven!
Needless to say on every trip a few would vanish into my pocket.
The moral of this story, check out the hand towels next time you fine dine.

* Other Thai restaurants apparently exist