Not So Hasslefree Fleshtones!

Not a ton to say that hasn't already been said over on the Reaper forum, but I figured I'd post a pic of where I am on Hasslefighter 2014 project!

I'm experimenting with the Scalecolor 75 Flesh Paint Set, and it's giving me fits! However, I think I've gotten most of the kinks out and will work on these guys some more in the near future. The rest of them should go fairly fast as I've had the other Scalecolor sets for a while and am quite familiar with them. 

Anyway, I'll post more updates when I've got them!

-K

I Got A New Toy!!!

So! Not a ton of things to say right now, but suffice it to say that I GOT A NEW TOY!!!! I've been needing a Dremel for quite some time. This has come to a head as in order to finish my mini exchange over on the Reaper forum, I need to do major damage to a wood block. I'll probably do a WIP for this one for my records, but I won't post it until my exchange parter receives the mini.



This should be a lot of fun though. I also purchased a few carving bits, and was give this link to a great article on the Woodcarving Illustrated website on bits and what they do to wood.

ALSO! I've started working on my minis for the WAMP Hasslefree Contest! I don't have a ton of time to dedicate to this project, but I'm pretty pumped about it none the less! Now, let me say that I'm an ex-gamer... Well, that's not entirely true, but I just don't have the time/skill/reflexes to invest in video games like I used to. I cut my teeth on the old arcade version of Double Dragon. I could play through the entire game on one quarter when I was probably 11 or so. This was beneficial as I generally only had one dollar to play in the arcade, so I had to make it last. People would stop to watch me play the game. Then Street Fighter II hit the arcade and the addiction grew. I got good, real good. So good in fact that the adults would not allow me to place bets against them when they'd wager who'd win with what. I had a guy break a Samurai Showdown arcade game because he dropped about $10 worth of tokens in that machine trying to beat me. He slammed the control panel so hard he shattered the glass that covered the screen. I literally almost got into a fist fight when some college guy fed Tekken II around $30 trying to win. Pit Fighter, Kagi Ki, Vendetta, TMNT, Bad Dudes, Vigilante, Karate Champ, River City Ransom and countless others all hold fond memories for me. So.... I have a thing for fighting games.

At any rate, here's the guys I'm going to try to finish for the contest.



I'll keep y'all posted as I work through these. I'd write up more, but I'd be repeating more of my WIP on the Reaper site, plus it's late.

More goodness to follow! Stay tuned, and as always, thanks for reading!

-K

The Spoils of.... 3rd Place!

Greetings all! I would've posted this up sooner, but I didn't get a chance to as it was too late and I had responsibilities I had to take care of earlier today. 

A while back, I participated in a contest over on the Reaper forum called "Be A Spaceship Superstar!" It was a lot of fun, and my first competition. The idea was to paint a SciFi figure/squad/diorama, and as I love dioramas, I chose to do that. Of course, during the month leading up to the competition, I got lazy and had to rush to finish everything up. However, with a little luck (and no multi-genre winners) I placed 3rd in diorama. This is a pic of my entry "The Race"

More of "The Race" Here!

I was pleased with the overall piece, although I wanted to add a lot more detail to it. At any rate, I had fun participating in my first competition and I'm definitely going to be entering more in the future (*cough* 2014 "Year of the Giants") I wanted to post the other entries, but it looks like the link was taken down. I'm lucky to have gotten third as there were some really awesome dioramas there!

At any rate, as part of the contest, I was allowed to choose from an assortment of minis that were generously donated as prizes. I'm pretty pumped as I was able to pick some very good minis that I'd never heard of or seen before. Most of these can be seen over at the Prince August miniature site. These are the ones I chose:

- Warzone Pretorian Behemoth - Really big and ugly dude... should be a blast to paint!

- VOID Viridian Fenrir's Assault Marines Advancing - Great poses, although not Warzone 

- Warzone Major Johan Emigholtz - Super pumped as this guy is riding on a dinosaur, and my 3yr. old recent requested a dinosaur mini.

- Warzone Ducal Militia - I'll probably end up doing a diorama featuring these guys vs. the WPB above.

- Warzone Ducal Militia HMG Team - Lock 'n Load

- Warzone Pegasus Scout Bike - A great mini that'll fit right in "The Race" and for my little girl.

- Warzone Capitol: Assault Marine HMG Spec - Looks awesome! 

- Warzone Trencher Hero - Somebody's gotta lead....

I'm sure I'll do some WIPS on here on these guys. I'm trying to determine where to put my stuff, but I'll probably end up posting in both places. At any rate, it'll be a while before I can get to these guys as I have a Reaper Exchange Mini to complete, a Hasslefree Contest to participate in, as well as The Year of the Giants. It's going to be a busy few moths of painting tiny things!

Thanks for reading!

-K

Why Paint Miniatures!?

So if you’ve stumbled across this little corner of the ‘net, you may be asking yourself: Why on earth would anyone want to paint something so small (and maybe even silly!?) Well, the truth of that is, well, for the challenge! I’ve always had an artistic side. As a child I loved to draw (horribly) and assemble models. I always wanted watercolors but my mother wouldn’t buy them for me because they were “too messy!” My mother could be a killjoy. There’s no telling… I could have been the next Rembrandt! 

Anyway, as I’ve stated previously, I was introduced to minis by my cousin, as well as a brief fascination with roleplaying games (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, actually) I remember seeing those small figures in the FLGS (friendly local gaming store) and was fascinated by the sheer level of detail that people managed to get on these tiny figures. I still am to this day! It’s a challenge, it’s fun, and it is a blast making connections on all of the forums that are dedicated to this fun hobby. 

For the INFP in me, the ability to paint, write, photograph, blog, and chat really helps me connect with my artistic side. Painting minis covers a broad aspect of talent and abilities. First you want to paint something. Then you want to paint it well so you purchase brushes and better lighting. Then, you want to show off your painting for approval and corrective criticism, so you need to learn how to photograph small, detailed objects so you need a good camera, lighting, tent, backdrops, tiny tripod… It never stops! So, if you’re curious as to why you should even try to paint something so small, why don’t you pick up one of THESE and give it a go! I’ll warn you though, once you swallow the red pill and fall down the rabbit hole, there’s no turning back… But it’s totally worth it!

Thanks for reading!

-K

Closing In On A Year...

So! I suppose this is my first official post on this new blog. I must say that it’s been a very exciting time of learning about miniatures and all that goes along with them. I started painting after messing around with some personality testing things (specifically, Meyers-Briggs) and discovering I’m an INFP. I’m not going into personality testing detail, but essentially it told me that I needed to find some way to express myself artistically. I was introduced to minis when I was a teenager by my older cousin who was in the Marines at the time. He and a few of his friends started playing, collecting, and painting Battletech minis. I can’t recall if I ever painted Battletech, but through the FLGS, I learned about all things Games Workshop as well as Battletech. I did not, however, start painting at this time. Fast forward 21 years and I found myself looking at GW again, and discovering that the GW of my late childhood was not the GW of my adult life. Of course, I didn’t discover this until AFTER purchasing an overpriced rulebook and a Space Marine codex. (neat stuff, but really, really, overpriced. Like paying Porche prices for an old VW Beetle kind of overpriced) Anyway, by doing research, I learned of Reaper miniatures and place my first order… followed by a second… followed by an Ott Light… You get the idea. At any rate, my artistic efforts produced this very first mini: Reaper’s Barrow Rat (02544- from a LTPK actually)

Reaper's Barrow Rat

Yes, he’s gross. He’s nasty. He’s a dirty, dirty rat, but I love him! This post is dedicated to you, oh nasty rat who resides in a fishing lure box somewhere in the house. Though you rarely see the light of day, you were the beginning to a hobby that I have thoroughly enjoyed and that I have used to bring happiness to others (as well as funly painted minis! Yes, funly is a new word)

At any rate, he was mini #1. Kaya, who’s in the header above, is officially miniature #21 of project 19. You can make much progress in whatever you do, if you just apply yourself. Thank you for reading, and I’ll be sure to post better, more relevant posts in the future ;)

Thanks for reading!

-K