Armchair Dragoons Forums

Other Gaming => Arts & Crafts & 3D Printing => Topic started by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 04:53:13 PM

Title: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 04:53:13 PM
Ok. So this is not a game AAR. But it is an account of my ongoing hobby projects that will enable playing games.

Mostly my hobby table consists of painting miniatures. I am not a great painter but I enjoy it. Be prepared to be wowed and amazed and bored by my tales of making scenery, RPG bits and bobs, clipping counters, putting felt on things, and other sorted fantastic tales of grown child adventure!

A couple of notable details:
 
1. My pile of potential (a.k.a. pile of shame, a.k.a source of many questions from the wife) is mostly RPG miniatures, a couple of piles of 10mm pewter minis for DBA armies, and Games Workshop stuff for Middle Earth and WH40K.

2. I have a sheet of MDF. It's 4x8. It will become a battle board and some scatter terrain. I have had it for a long time now. Life gets in the way of my hobby ambitions.

3. I have not painted a miniature in about 2 years due to work and moving.

4. ...well...uh...there is no number four unless having a pile of rulebooks counts. Cause I have a good many of them that come and go across the table.

My name is Bison. I make a mess doing things. I use those things to occupy boxes, shelves, and my game table. Enjoy the journey. And please share yours if you feel so inclined.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 04:58:54 PM
A tale of a man and his airbrush.

So I bought an airbrush several years ago. It's an Iwata Eclipse. Of course, all hobby tools require other tools and accessories. I have a portable paint booth and some other do-dads. I also have the required compressor. It's blue and likes to occupy space at my feet.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 05:07:20 PM
A few weeks ago...I decided I was going to finish building some WH40K models I started a couple of years ago. Of course, as I often do, I got sidetracked and purchased Middle Earth Battles of Pelennor Fields. I actually built all the models. Now I need to paint them.

I tried to spray primer once from a rattle can. It was a disaster. The weather was hot, humid, and generally not friendly for rattle can work.  This is how I developed my initial scheme. Bison if you cannot manage a spray paint primer there is only one thing to do. Buy an airbrush. So I did.

Anywho...fast forward to twenty years into the 21st Century and there was setting up the airbrush to prime some Lord of the Rings models. I primed over 40 models black in one night. A lifetime world record.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 05:10:20 PM
Here's Troll and a couple of random models including some orcs and a horse. I am not a photographer. The lighting sucks. I know. I also paint in equally crappy lighting conditions.

I now need to figure out how to actually paint a horse ... :censored:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on September 12, 2021, 06:02:59 PM
Great idea! I look forward to the coming tales.  8)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Tolstoi on September 12, 2021, 06:31:41 PM
I agree with bbMike: Great idea!  :) 

Looking at your portable paint booth, it looks like it has good lighting; however, I'm curious about how you handle the ventilation? Do you spray outside? In the garage? Your set up looks great, thanks for sharing with us. :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on September 12, 2021, 06:35:43 PM
Looking at your portable paint booth, it looks like it has good lighting; however, I'm curious about how you handle the ventilation?

I had the same question. :nerd:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 08:17:57 PM
The ol' paint booth story, eh? Well dear fellows please do not judge me too harshly. It's a tale of woe, danger, and questionable decision-making.

You ever see the people of Walmart and their car photos? You know the ones with the hot tub in the trunk that are powered by a generator duct taped to the bumper? Well it's not quite so bad but I did put a lot of creative engineering skills to work. I am a desperate hobbyist. Desperate times and situations require quick and decisive thinking. Weigh the risk and overweigh the reward outcomes...and bam there you are air brushing in the master bathroom until midnight.

Now ideally the booth is designed to push venting air out a window. It comes with a coupler to attach to the back of the fan, 6' of hose, and a contraption to slide under a window. See the photo below. It's a Master's paint booth. You can get them on Amazon.

(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/811t+IVpn+L._AC_SL1500_.jpg)

I planned to place the booth in the garage. I cleared a table. Mastered the garage door to the point I could stop it just inches off the ground. Measured the distance from the booth table to the garage door. I had it all calculated out. Fast forward to the weekend. The wife undertakes a major minimization purge operation. The garage is fill up with opened boxes and the folding tables are cluttered with odds and ends of her efforts. Being a man of action I sprung into execution and pushed caution to the side. Did Columbus wait for GPS to sail the ocean's blue? Hell, no. He hopped in a ship and headed out into the yonder!

I setup the booth on a folding table in the master bathroom. From previous experience, I knew the fan and filter system deals with a good 95% of paint fumes. The other 5% goes into the air, sure, but mostly it passes through the filters and the hose into the air outside the window. The bathroom exhaust fan and a floor fan provide additional air circulation. The key to the Operation Paint Booth Panic was a little contraption I rigged to catch the exhaust air, provide an extra filter, and additional counter-measure to prevent paint particles from getting free.

I attached the fan couple as normal. Acquired my trusty roll of painter's tape, a Walmart plastic bag, packing paper, and a box (thanks to the wife's efforts in the garage). I filled the plastic bag with shredded paper towel,  loosely covered the bag with packing paper, and inserted it into a box. All secured with blue painter's tape. An ingenious contraption which surprised myself and other doubters in the house with it's effectiveness. Do I recommend this to you dear readers? Hell, no. It's a dumb idea that only a desperate fool would undertake. See exhibit A for the makeshift secondary filtration system. The box and packing paper have been removed as the booth is currently located on my hobby table in the walk-in closet. Life in a walk-in closet is a long tale for another day.

Honestly, it worked well as a temporary solution. However, I do wear a mask when air brushing and if I had been working with anything but acrylic paints I would not have done it. The whole operation is powered by my trusty little blue compressor. See him in all his glory below. I think a tale of compressors is in order for another day.





Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on September 12, 2021, 08:37:50 PM
This is my new favorite thread.



Also, I relate to points 1-4 and feel very called out.  ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on September 12, 2021, 09:39:36 PM
Brilliant!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 12, 2021, 11:58:08 PM
Brilliant!

Thanks. I think with a little more over engineering there is real potential for further development.

Also, I relate to points 1-4 and feel very called out.  ;D

It's a vicious cycle. The true challenge I have failed to comprehend and overcome is not adding more to the to do list. My game store miniatures dealer assures me you cannot die if you still have miniatures to paint. I chose to accept his word.

The contraption held up for another night of priming. All have have left is the Fell Beast but I need to glue the flying stick securely first. Anyway, I am itching to slap some paint on some figures. So I think I will move in that direction tomorrow. I just need to find my trusty painting towel first...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on September 13, 2021, 06:48:32 AM
This makes for fascinating reading  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 13, 2021, 07:33:47 AM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9TmgE-EHxlA&t=862s

Easy to do horses from a guy who hates doing horses
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 13, 2021, 05:04:25 PM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9TmgE-EHxlA&t=862s

Easy to do horses from a guy who hates doing horses

I can appreciate his feelings. The contrast paint line is not something I have experimented with yet but I like the look of his brown toned horses. 
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 13, 2021, 05:37:44 PM
I kind of wussed out on my horses - morgul knights I did black which was the base coat anyway and highlighted with grey

The elves I left corax white and shaded with contrast apothecary white
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 14, 2021, 08:28:31 AM
Hobbyist Log - Discovered long-term storage and paints do not always go well. Assessing the damage but two paints down due to drying. Critically the Nuln Oil dried out. Metal and black hair shading suffered a minor set back. The lighting situation at the hobby table is also not good. Sure the light provides adequate output for a nightlight but little in the way of sufficient painting illumination.



Note to self: Research how monks following the fall of Rome managed to paint by candlelight with a very high degree of success.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 14, 2021, 09:11:21 AM
‘If you’re going to use all our gold leaf up painting your fancy books you’d better do it right or well cut your hands off’
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on September 15, 2021, 02:38:38 PM
Pro tip: never have better lighting on the table than you did in the studio.

Or was it the other way around? It's so dark in here I can't read my notes.

P.s. give your compressor a pet for me.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 15, 2021, 11:21:22 PM
The hobby space is in a horrific display of disarray. I sat to paint last evening and was terrorized by the disorder. And like vampire fearing the approach of dawn, I let out an audible gasp as I quickly turned out the light and headed to the safe confines of my recliner. I fear if I am ever to start the painting the armies of Rohan and Mordor, the room must be cleaned. I will provide proof of the sad state of affairs at a later time. 
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 15, 2021, 11:42:04 PM
I kind of wussed out on my horses - morgul knights I did black which was the base coat anyway and highlighted with grey

The elves I left corax white and shaded with contrast apothecary white

I might end up having to do some zenithal highlighting on the minis. I used to mix a darker grey to use as primer but did not this time. The grey was much easier to paint colors over than black. I like black in principle and the effect it creates for shadowing. However, you do end up with darker tones overall especially if you are using colors like red. There are ways around it but a light grey zenithal will help brighten the colors and leave shadows. It's been awhile applying some of these techniques and my first test reaper miniature suffered through my relearning and bad lighting.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on September 16, 2021, 06:40:36 AM
I was never able to master the technique of shading up from a dark undercoat  :(

Maybe I use the wrong term there - highlighting up is perhaps more accurate.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 16, 2021, 06:59:35 AM
All made easy now - pssssssht black

Pssssht white from a 45 degree angle from above
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 16, 2021, 11:11:52 AM
All made easy now - pssssssht black

Pssssht white from a 45 degree angle from above

This. However, I need to do a serious reorganization before I setup the paint book and behind that process. Fortunately, the highlight should go quicker certainly on the Orcs and it just depends on how much I want to second coat a primer layer. Small miniatures with fine details makes me not want to do much more before I start base coating and layering.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 17, 2021, 10:28:05 PM
The situation regarding the crafting table had reached critical mass. The clutter of creativity simply became too much. My table space is limited and more and more paint bottles, water cups, wet pallet, bottle shaker,  portable airbrush booth, and so many other tools and painting concoctions were building up. It is a firm believe of mine that the state of the space in which you work reflects the state of one's mind. A cluttered space is an indicator of a cluttered mind. In the end, the creative work stops and cannot begin again until the table is put back in order.

I share my mess as a cautionary tale...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 17, 2021, 10:46:28 PM
I have long lived with the reality of a small crafting space when it comes to painting, assembling and cleaning models, and other projects. For projects of larger size I work in the garage. Why do I not just move my operations into the garage? Primarily it's due to the hot and dusty nature of the space. I am not inclined to deal with the garages own environmental challenges. And as you can see, I have enough of a mess to address without having to add cleaning dust build up off of my work space.

Anyway back to the current disaster. This photo demonstrates not only the current situation regarding the cluttered space but perhaps much more importantly how I have painted miniatures for many, many years. A small desk lamp and a magnified lens have been my principle enabling tools other than the necessary brush and paint. The net result is a constant push and pull of adjusting the lamp to provide enough light on the miniature and fenagling the lens into a position where I can weld the brush and paint the details when necessary. To add to this sad tale is the position of the wet pallet and my white porcelain plate necessary to mix the paints. They all vie for same space.

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 17, 2021, 11:11:43 PM
Now I had known the lighting situation was a dreadful as the mess of creativity on the table for some time. My little desk lamp tries to live up to the task. But in the end, the light is warm which causes misrepresentation of color, casts odd shadows, and it's hot like the ninth plane of hell hot. I have burnt my painting hand on more than one occasion. It also causes the paint on my porcelain pallet and miniatures to dry much quicker than they otherwise would. But we artists adapt and accept our fate. We create under the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

But I chose another route. I no longer needed to be bound and held hostage to a 20 year old desk lamp. I am a free man with the fortunate blessing being able to make decisions to escape the confines of the past into a new and glorious future. For you see, I had been saving my nickels, pennies, and dimes until the right moment. The moment I knew would come where I would spend that loose change on a new lamp! A lamp that clamps on the side of the table with a swinging arm. A lamp that has a built in magnified lens. It would be a glorious beginning on the path to the future. A future that someday when enough pennies and dimes are save will result in a overhead lamp as well!

And so my friends, I undertook a great project. A cleaning project of such attention to detail and focus; it caused my spouse to question why I do not pay as much attention to the chore of cleaning the toilet. The table is back in order with proud new addition. A painting lamp I had only dreamed of possessing over the years.



Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 17, 2021, 11:28:18 PM
The cleanliness! The order! The amazing light shining down on my crafting table. It truly is a new day on the journey. And so it is that this miniature is the last miniature to be painted under the old regime. She will stand as testament to the past in future games of Dungeons and Dragons.

Now this miniature was a nightmare to paint beyond just the lighting and clutter. You see it is a Reaper miniature sculpt. I have painted many of them over the years. They are affordable with a nice range of heroes and monsters. But they do come with multiple issues. The castings are never, ever clean. We all expect mold lines but the fine details of the sculpture use to cast the mold are lost many times due to the resin not properly forming. So it was with this poor elven thief. I believe she is intended to have a mask cover the lower portion of the face but I am not sure. The was an indication on one cheek but not the other. I think there was supposed to be a fur liner on the bottom of her chest armor. However, it was just a bumpy mess with that did not line up with the leather pieces. So I did what I always do. Make up features for the sake of ease. Anyway, she took too long to paint as I fought through the physical mess and the rust not painting in a couple of years. But it was good to knock the rust off a bit and put paint to a model. It is after all part of the fun and joy. So it is that she will join a cast of heroes and join in an adventure at some point.

Life is good.



Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on September 18, 2021, 08:43:56 AM
Now I had known the lighting situation was a dreadful as the mess of creativity on the table for some time. My little desk lamp tries to live up to the task. But in the end, the light is warm which causes misrepresentation of color, casts odd shadows, and it's hot like the ninth plane of hell hot. I have burnt my painting hand on more than one occasion. It also causes the paint on my porcelain pallet and miniatures to dry much quicker than they otherwise would. But we artists adapt and accept our fate. We create under the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

But I chose another route. I no longer needed to be bound and held hostage to a 20 year old desk lamp. I am a free man with the fortunate blessing being able to make decisions to escape the confines of the past into a new and glorious future. For you see, I had been saving my nickels, pennies, and dimes until the right moment. The moment I knew would come where I would spend that loose change on a new lamp! A lamp that clamps on the side of the table with a swinging arm. A lamp that has a built in magnified lens. It would be a glorious beginning on the path to the future. A future that someday when enough pennies and dimes are save will result in a overhead lamp as well!

And so my friends, I undertook a great project. A cleaning project of such attention to detail and focus; it caused my spouse to question why I do not pay as much attention to the chore of cleaning the toilet. The table is back in order with proud new addition. A painting lamp I had only dreamed of possessing over the years.

Nice setup!  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 18, 2021, 02:11:57 PM
Thanks Mike. I am very happy with it. The light is so dramatically different. The coloring on the elven miniature is so different under the bright, daylight light lamp compared to the orangish hue of the desk lamp light.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on September 18, 2021, 02:41:43 PM
Always nice to have a clean hobby spot. Looks like a nice setup
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 19, 2021, 01:27:45 AM
Well I knocked out a batch of five Morannon  orcs this evening. I will need to go back and do a little touch up and maybe pick out a few more details. However, I have declared these orcs tabletop ready.

I will note the molds on several of the figures are not great. As in absolutely no facial detail not even little divets for eye sockets/mouth. And a good deal of the armor/cloth/leather sections were not easy to pick out. To be fair, I am tired so that may have much to do with it.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on September 19, 2021, 08:40:46 PM
Damn, Bison, those look really good. 

The armor/cloth/etc. looks okay to me, although admittedly it's easy to say that after the fact (when you've already painted them).  I can see where the facial details on the 1st and 4th figures might be a bit lacking, though I'm not sure I'd have noticed if you'd not pointed it out.  Still a very nice job overall; I envy your skill. 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 20, 2021, 12:32:18 AM
Thanks Martok.

I painted 2 more this evening and only have 27 orcs left to go!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 20, 2021, 02:46:02 AM
The pain of the horde armies -  guy at the club has 120 goblins to do  :-[

Looking good bison
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 20, 2021, 08:14:22 AM
The pain of the horde armies -  guy at the club has 120 goblins to do  :-[

My goal is simply to have them all look relatively similar. I noticed last night that my highlighting on the red cloth while using the same color pallet had changed slightly. The second batch had a stronger variation between the dark and light tones. Its not an issue but something I expected to occur as I get comfortable painting again.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 20, 2021, 09:05:27 AM
One of those ‘will never notice in the heat of battle’ things

I painted a figure last night for a customer, checked it over and over, took many pictures to send to him and never even noticed I hadnt painted the base
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 20, 2021, 09:34:07 AM
One of those ‘will never notice in the heat of battle’ things

I painted a figure last night for a customer, checked it over and over, took many pictures to send to him and never even noticed I hadnt painted the base

Definitely. It's frankly only really noticeable because of how focused I get painting. (Don't confuse focus with skill! :)) Crafting is my quiet alone time.

Anyway, I still need to do the bases and varnish. I have made a decision on the basing but will wait to reveal until I have some done and take some photos. The varnish will wait until I have a sizable number done and then I will break out the airbrush.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 21, 2021, 08:04:00 AM
22 orcs left...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on September 21, 2021, 08:35:03 AM
 :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 21, 2021, 10:29:31 PM
My paint collection is exclusively Vallejo Game Color with a few Citadel washes. This is due in large measure to my family having gifted me a 72 paint set many Christmas' ago. Only a couple of the paints seem to have gone bad and I still need to try and salvage them. However, I am feeling the lure of trying Citadel Contrast and classic paint lines. I do not believe they are better paints but having never used any I want to experiment. I think I am going to pick up a white base paint  and a greenish contrast for the Army of the Dead.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 22, 2021, 03:38:00 AM
The coelia green shade is perfect for the dead
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 22, 2021, 08:01:19 AM
I experienced a Nuln Oil mishap last night. I accidently knocked the bottle over and dumped over 1/2 of it onto the table. Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened over the years. Fortunately it did not get on any models or the floor.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 22, 2021, 09:22:30 AM
It’s happened to us all - I find that kids medicine now comes with a needle less syringe - perfect for sucking it all back up again
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 23, 2021, 08:33:37 PM
Moar Nuln!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 23, 2021, 08:46:28 PM
Ha! I have matured and use nuln oil very sparingly these days. Now Agrax Earthshade and Reikland Fleshshade on the other hand...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 25, 2021, 07:45:00 PM
Real life has disrupted progress this week. I have plans. Many plans.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 25, 2021, 07:49:21 PM
I present to you the Norden. It's a table I found during a recent visit to Ikea. The wife wanted to look at something...I forget...and I always look for items to repurpose for gaming. It expands to a maximum of 60" and is 35" with one leaf out. It has 6 drawers for storage. Lots of space for crafting materials to be stored. It is my ideal crafting table.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 25, 2021, 07:57:01 PM
Being the man of action that I am, I immediately set out to draft a plan to convert this sweet table into an even sweeter crafting table. I present to you the table's configuration for a painting space. On the left is the airbrush booth and on the right is the painting area complete with two clamp-on lamps. I refer to this setup as simply "The Dream". I also shared my plans with the wife. Surprisingly, she supports my dream. Well with the exception of the window and trees. Mostly due to the fact my explanation required that we repurpose the Master Bedroom as my crafting and game room.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 25, 2021, 08:27:58 PM
Spectacular diagram!

My desk is a norden but just the single standing 70x70 4 legged - just the right height
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on September 25, 2021, 08:55:03 PM
I for one fully support "The Dream" as pictured!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on September 25, 2021, 09:13:00 PM
How could anyone not support your dream with a plan like that?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 26, 2021, 02:05:36 AM
It is hard for my combined logic and compelling art skills to be resisted. I'm pretty sure the realism of the diagram really laid out not only the table's functional beauty but its practicality and necessity. Also my table in the closet is considerably larger and forces me to encroach on her side.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 27, 2021, 06:42:54 PM
5 more orcs completed and 5 prepped to be painted. I think there are 12 remaining to paint and I can move onto the either the Army of the Dead or Rohan. Last night I realized I primed the ghosts light grey except the shields. I primed the shield sprue black with all the other shields. This well require me to repaint them either light gray or white. /sigh/
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Advocator (Scott) on September 27, 2021, 09:41:13 PM
I experienced a Nuln Oil mishap last night. I accidently knocked the bottle over and dumped over 1/2 of it onto the table. Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened over the years. Fortunately it did not get on any models or the floor.

I've done that, but it landed in my lap and on the carpet. And that's when I learned that, at least if dealt with quickly, it thankfully cleans up. I now keep carpet cleaner handy when painting.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 27, 2021, 11:04:58 PM
I experienced a Nuln Oil mishap last night. I accidently knocked the bottle over and dumped over 1/2 of it onto the table. Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened over the years. Fortunately it did not get on any models or the floor.

I've done that, but it landed in my lap and on the carpet. And that's when I learned that, at least if dealt with quickly, it thankfully cleans up. I now keep carpet cleaner handy when painting.
c

Sadly, I learn lessons the hard way. I did it again this evening. Now I am down to 1/4 bottle. The wife made me put a mat under the table because I apparently have a problem with spilling paints. :-[

On a positive note, the FLGS owner will happily take my money for another bottle.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 28, 2021, 01:33:56 AM
Before spending cash on the official GW paint holder just blu tack the bottle to the desk
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 28, 2021, 10:32:10 AM
Yeah I should secure the paint pot but I was only opening it for a second...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on September 28, 2021, 03:18:27 PM
Yeah I should secure the paint pot but I was only opening it for a second...

As a long-time fountain pen user, and occasionally splotchy person, I salute your daring!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 28, 2021, 03:42:15 PM
Yeah that’s some high risk thinking right there

Fraught with danger
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 28, 2021, 08:25:39 PM
One of my boys decided he wanted to paint today. He split an entire bottle of Lahmian Medium which sat drying on the newspaper covering the table for a couple of hours. Lahmain Medium has amazing adhesive properties. It took an hour of soaking with water and scrubbing with a sponge to liberate the table of newspaper basically glued to its surface.

The FLGS owner will be even happier now when we next visit his shop.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 28, 2021, 08:26:49 PM
As a long-time fountain pen user, and occasionally splotchy person, I salute your daring!

Excellent. Do you do the fancy calligraphy writing? That takes serious skill.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on September 29, 2021, 04:42:28 PM
As a long-time fountain pen user, and occasionally splotchy person, I salute your daring!

Excellent. Do you do the fancy calligraphy writing? That takes serious skill.

Oh, good heavens, no. My writing is atrocious. But some of my pens are very attractive.

(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5005c8fc84ae929b37214ebd/1469708545790-7E5DBUJ22WML1VJR6FN0/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w)

(Not my pens---I'm horrible at taking pictures, too.)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 29, 2021, 04:49:09 PM
One of my boys decided he wanted to paint today. He split an entire bottle of Lahmian Medium which sat drying on the newspaper covering the table for a couple of hours. Lahmain Medium has amazing adhesive properties. It took an hour of soaking with water and scrubbing with a sponge to liberate the table of newspaper basically glued to its surface.

The FLGS owner will be even happier now when we next visit his shop.

I could tell you the time I proudly placed 8 recently painted figures for a client on the table and thought I’d just highlight the silver a touch - army painter shining silver drop bottle - squeeze, nothing, squeeeeze, nothing, squeeeeeeeeeeeze, nothing

SQUEEEEEZ - POWWWWWWW  top flies off, high pressure silver paint all over wall, desk, rest of paints in paint holder and right across the 8 figures
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 29, 2021, 06:56:30 PM
^Wow! I am sure there were many fine English words exclaimed in the aftermath.

Unsurprisingly, I too have had the dropper fly off a bottle spraying paint all over.

While I do like the control of paint usage from a dropper and I believe they provide a longer shelf life, they come with their own challenges. I actually don’t mind the Citadel pots but I have had product like liquid green stuff dry out because it wasn’t fully closed. And I have done pot maintenance cleaning the seals of old drying paint build up.

I honestly think the real benefit of citadel outside of wide accessibility is almost every painting video uses the paint. So the names and colors and whatnot are easier to follow. I do have a conversion chart for Vallejo but of course newer citadel paints don’t have a direct crossover with Vallejo. Specifically, specifically contrast paints or colors specifically associated with a 40K faction. It drives my OCD crazy.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Staggerwing on September 29, 2021, 09:44:11 PM
Extra points for using the word 'specifically' three times in the same sentence.  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 29, 2021, 10:24:14 PM
Extra points for using the word 'specifically' three times in the same sentence.  :bigthumb:

Ha! I was on the phone and didn't even notice my high degree of command of the English language!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2021, 08:20:20 PM
Water cup to the left. Paint water to the right. I chose poorly for a drink of water.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 01, 2021, 08:25:46 PM
I guess nobody should tell these guys about the paint and take station at Origins where you get to sit down and paint a free mini at the show, huh?

Or instead should we not tell them about the two dozen booths selling minis and paints and all of the accessories?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 01, 2021, 10:05:37 PM
Water cup to the left. Paint water to the right. I chose poorly for a drink of water.

I’ve often swished a brush in tea by accident and appreciated the cleansing properties of said beverage much more than the paint water and continued to use the tea for the rest of the session
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Staggerwing on October 01, 2021, 10:51:34 PM
Water cup to the left. Paint water to the right. I chose poorly for a drink of water.

I’ve often swished a brush in tea by accident and appreciated the cleansing properties of said beverage much more than the paint water and continued to use the tea for the rest of the session

Those tannic acids have powers heralded by old world minis painters of both near and far.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 02, 2021, 12:18:15 AM
Water cup to the left. Paint water to the right. I chose poorly for a drink of water.

I’ve often swished a brush in tea by accident and appreciated the cleansing properties of said beverage much more than the paint water and continued to use the tea for the rest of the session

Those tannic acids have powers heralded by old world minis painters of both near and far.

Tru dat
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on October 02, 2021, 05:59:27 AM
Camomile, Earl Grey, or good 'ol PG Tips?

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 02, 2021, 06:17:23 AM
Seriously?

There is only one tea
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on October 02, 2021, 07:16:06 AM
Yorkshire?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 02, 2021, 07:37:16 AM
 :-*
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 02, 2021, 10:48:47 AM
5 more orcs down. I think can increase the batch count by a couple of models.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 02, 2021, 10:49:11 AM
You've crushed my preconceptions, you bully!  I always assumed you were a PG tips swilling Tesco loiterer.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 05, 2021, 11:46:06 PM
6 more orcs painted. 8 left to go. So many orcs. The only question left is do I disregard the suggestion in the battle book and wait to attach shields or ignore the recommendation and just go ahead and attach the shields.

Next up. I am going with the easy button and painting Army of the Dead. White. Greenish ink wash. Light white highlights. Done. Seems easy if not a bit monotonous.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 06, 2021, 08:05:01 AM
If you’re just playing at home and in friendlies and you cant be bothered then don’t bother with the shields and with a magic flourish of your hand at the start say all the orcs have shields - as long as you’ve paid for them no problem
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 06, 2021, 08:34:32 AM
I think the designers are trying to balance the game somehow for the initial battle scenario by reducing the number of orcs with shields and having the Riders of Rohan not have shields. I just do not want to have to go back and repaint parts of models even if its only a small bit. Anyway progress and momentum must be maintained!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on October 06, 2021, 04:25:24 PM
A motion to disregard a suggestion to ignore a recommendation is always in order.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on October 09, 2021, 08:43:27 AM
How about these for a painting project;

https://www.northumbriantinsoldier.com/
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 09, 2021, 10:11:41 AM
Having painted some for the B and B guy I will say from a distance they look awesome but actually working with them the mould lines are really tough and details are not as crisp as Oathsworn but they are lovely looking figures
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on October 09, 2021, 10:17:34 AM
How about these for a painting project;

https://www.northumbriantinsoldier.com/

Ooooh, Time Bandits!  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 09, 2021, 10:27:48 AM
Is there a Time Bandits RPG or something? I saw the movie decades ago and remember almost nothing of it.

It does raise an interesting discussion regarding the merits of metal, plastic, or resin mini sculpts.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 11, 2021, 07:47:16 PM
It's good to have a family who supports my hobbies. They went to the local Warhammer store and purchased a copy of Warcry Catacombs for my birthday gift. I am pretty excited to build, paint, and play this game. Very much a beer and pretzels skirmish game set in the Age of Sigmar universe. The stock photo below shows all the goods. I will say that Games Workshop does really load up their starter box games with plastic and other bits.

(https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.MG6Q198K_3Dunu208z8MPwHaHp?w=163&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=3.12&pid=1.7)

I am really trying to keep my pile of plastic to a manageable size. However, I am also researching a couple of different ancients rulesets for future projects.   
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 11, 2021, 08:31:24 PM
I’m available for adoption whenever you’re ready
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 12, 2021, 12:04:51 AM
I’m available for adoption whenever you’re ready

And I am ready to be adopted into your gaming club. I think this is a clear difference between the States and the UK for miniatures gaming. I have literally played and visited stores all over the U.S. and I have never really seen anything similar to what people from the UK post regarding game clubs. It's a true social event. Here sure there are conventions but at stores there are maybe a couple of tables and a half broken bookshelf with a random assortment of mostly broken terrain. And every now and again you will see a couple of people playing a game of WH40K or AoS. But its not a common occurrence. I am sure they exist...somewhere.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 12, 2021, 12:09:03 AM
Finally finished the painting all of the Mordor orcs. Now I just need to do the basing and spray on some varnish. I am definitely going to do the Army of the Dead next before I undertake painting the Rohan force. And I may shift off painting most evenings to build some of the Warcry terrain and miniatures.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 12, 2021, 09:36:56 AM
I have literally played and visited stores all over the U.S. and I have never really seen anything similar to what people from the UK post regarding game clubs.

Triangle Simulation Society here is pretty close, but they don't have a regular space the way most UK clubs do
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on October 12, 2021, 01:29:29 PM
I've been here a couple of times in the past;

https://tynesidewargames.co.uk/wherewhen.html

And these are the guys who organise the yearly event we normally attend, although not for the last couple of years obviously.

https://sites.google.com/site/borderreiverswargamessociety/Home
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 12, 2021, 01:44:11 PM
I have literally played and visited stores all over the U.S. and I have never really seen anything similar to what people from the UK post regarding game clubs.

Triangle Simulation Society here is pretty close, but they don't have a regular space the way most UK clubs do

It’s funny how we often lament the “decline” of historical wargaming. However it seems, in the US, we do not organize in any meaningful way to perpetuate it locally. I guess we have really relegated ourselves to houses and very limited social networks.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 13, 2021, 11:08:20 PM
Funny thing about embracing the full spectrum of miniatures wargaming hobby is the amount of time you spend doing everything but playing a game. The past month my time has mostly been spent painting orcs. As a result, I have put off building some much needed terrain and reading the rules for ME SBG again. Such is life I suppose. And to be honest, I quite enjoy it.

However, the past two evenings I have been researching rules for ancients. Moving into a historical system to build and paint is my next project after I finish painting up the Middle Earth miniatures and the newly acquired Warcry set. I think the two systems I am most considering are Warhammer Ancient Battles and Swordpoint. WAB is problematic to purchase do to it being OOP. Swordpoint seems like a decent successor system to WAB with a great catalogue of era army books that are still in print and not too expensive. I would like Hittite and Early Egyptian chariot armies, Peloponnesian War Greeks, or Punic War armies. I have 15mm Rome and Carthage forces but I am not overly keen on working with metal figures. We shall see but first I need to decide on a system and figure out the basing requirements.

No point to the post other than hobby life is good with more than enough things to occupy my time.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on October 14, 2021, 01:38:13 AM
Sounds like you have a fair bit to consider -- which is not a bad thing.  :) 

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:21:52 PM
I took UCG's advice and kept the Army of the Dead painting very simple. I primed them with a light grey Vallejo primer and used Citadel paints for the actual paint job. Base coat is Corax White and Coelia Greenshade provided the color. Deciding whether or not I want to go back and do a light dry brush with either Corax White or perhaps very light mix of green into the white. I may just leave them as is because I kind of like the effect as is but perhaps a little too dark. Of course, I totally forgot about their shields so I will need to go back to paint and glue them to the models.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 17, 2021, 02:27:21 PM
Looking great - I think I went back with a dry brush of terminatus stone
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:36:43 PM
A Tale of Three Basing Schemes...

I have never really based my miniatures before. I painted the figure and then usually just painted the base a dark grey or black. They work just fine and perhaps better for RPG sessions with no elaborate basing. However, I think wargame miniatures look much better with some sort of basing to tie the miniature into the battle field. Except snow basing. I have hated every single example of snow effects I have seen online. They always look out of place. Green field and these dodgy dudes running around with patches of white. Anyway I digress...

I have amassed a small collection of basing materials to do the work. KISS is the ongoing premise. I just want to get the armies to the table looking decent.

And so I turned to two easily available product lines at the local game shops. Army Painter and Citadel for fake grass, rocks, tuffs, and technical paints to produce textured ground covers. A small sample of the Army Painter products is below. Now I get why people chose to go the industrial bulk sized products but frankly the little tubs from Army Painter are great for storage and there is very good variety for the various grass and tuffs. Also I love the cork rocks. They are great and very easy to work with while modeling.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:40:13 PM
Being a bit indecisive on the route I wanted to go I picked out three minis from the RPG collection to test some bases. The orc fighter and wizard are painted by yours truly several years ago and are from the Wizkids Deep Cuts line. The fighter came from a pre-painted box of D&D minis I bought about 2 decades ago. Anyway some variation of these will be used for the ME SBG Orcs and Rohan warriors. I think I may look for a grey rock effect for the Army of the Dead.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:45:13 PM
The orc is based using Citadel Stirland Battlemire, a cork rock painted and dry brushed, a few of the small cork rocks, and the Battlefield Step Grass.

I really thought the Citadel paint would have more texture. But it's really intended to be a muddy effect and did not respond to dry brushing to pull out texture. I think I could shape it more but it work great to hide the pre-molded base of the mini. The tuft is a stepland grass I think.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:47:47 PM
The wizard base uses Citadel Agrellan Badlands which I really like the cracking effect a lot. However, it's pretty a very light color. I may look for a slightly darker technical paint. The tufts are stepgrass again. Really going for a scrub brush desert look.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:50:20 PM
Finally the fighter base is just the small battlefield cork rock, battlefield grass, and a plains shrub tuff. Simple. I forgot to paint the base brown and did not fully put down a good layer of glue but the touch up works for the two to three foot away rule.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 17, 2021, 02:53:51 PM
Looking great - I think I went back with a dry brush of terminatus stone

Thanks. It was honestly nice to have something simple to paint. I will have to look to see if I have a Vallejo equivalent. I did like working with the Corax White more so than the Vallejo white I have. It had better consistency. My Vallejo is a bit too watery and can leave a very chalky finish.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 17, 2021, 08:41:04 PM
Good stuff!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 18, 2021, 12:06:47 AM
Sounds like you have a fair bit to consider -- which is not a bad thing.  :)

I found a cheap copy of the Warhammer Ancient Battles and the Ancient Armies rulebooks. So I have committed to an initial ruleset...I would be afraid of being made to sleep on the couch for my impulse shopping spree. However, I fall asleep on the Lazy Boy all the time. So punishment or no punishment my sleeping habits will at least remain the same.  ;D

The biggest issue eventually will be figuring out how the ranks and base sizes work out. It seems like Black Powder the rules are pretty non-committal in this regard.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 18, 2021, 12:07:24 AM
Good stuff!

Git' ye to the paint table and do some crafting!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 18, 2021, 11:00:58 PM
I tried one more experimental base this evening. The figure is another of the 20 year old D&D pre-painted miniatures. He's a "wood elf". I don't know. He is so dark in color the armor, leather, weapons and what not all blend into a grey/brown figure on the table. I think I used him as an evil bandit leader on a past campaign if I recall correctly. He does not strike me as a particularly heroic model. Anyway, he's a good base line standard for miniatures I paint. So if the quality I paint is even slightly better then him, I struck gold with the paint job!

Back to the point on experimenting on this model. The basing is Citadel's Armageddon Dust technical paint and an Agrax Earthshade wash. I then did some light dry brushing with Vallejo earth brown and something beige...I cannot recall. The rocks and grass are the Army Painter products but I used a mix of several different grasses. I chose not to use any tuffs on this one to save on my currently limited stock. But I think a tuff off to one side or in back would help with the presentation. Also, I went with a much heavier grass layer. But the technical paint looks really good on its own so as the static grass falls of a base it just creates a nice dirt looking patch. I think I am going to go with this style for the Rohan army with less rocks and more grass. I think the rocks look better as a patch/pile then as a base layer.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Hethwill on October 19, 2021, 03:59:19 AM
Seeing other's hobby work is a great incentive and provides inspiration to continue our own.
Thank you for sharing. Lovely stuff.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 19, 2021, 09:46:52 PM
I battled super glue this evening. It was a sticky situation and our forces were not easily separated. I may or may not have a paper permanently stuck to my fingers.

I did hopefully repair a broken spear. As annoying as mixing metal and plastics can be at times, I would love spears that were more durable to curious young hands and being dropped on the floor. :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on October 20, 2021, 05:15:52 PM
being dropped on the floor. :)

This would be my biggest problem.  :P 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 20, 2021, 05:19:10 PM
I ordered some brass spears from North Star miniatures - definitely drop proof
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 20, 2021, 08:39:10 PM
I ordered some brass spears from North Star miniatures - definitely drop proof

For what line of miniatures are you using them on? The Army of the Dead figures have very tiny hands and I do not think I could hand drill a hole to fit a new spear. I think I would have to do some sort of simple green stuff modelling to shape a hand.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 20, 2021, 08:40:28 PM
being dropped on the floor. :)

This would be my biggest problem.  :P

I have knocked them over a good couple dozen times. And the cats have done the same. And the kids. I am not really how it broke but needless to say it broke and I hope the super glue holds.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on October 21, 2021, 03:38:21 AM
Fingers crossed it does the trick! 


Honestly, I don't even need kids or pets to be knocking things over.  I'm already too good at doing that by myself.  ::) 

If I were to take up painting miniatures, I would almost have to have a table with some sort of low/sloped "ledge" around the outside, so as to contain the inevitable spills I would create... 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 21, 2021, 04:03:38 AM
It's really only the one's with a milk like consistency that are really at high risk for spilling and making a big mess. So your inks, washes, and I suspect the new contrast style paint lines. Otherwise, if you are using a dropper bottle or your brush to scoop paint out of a pot to put some on your pallet. Its a very small amount especially if you are doing only one or two figures at a time.

Anyway, I think if you play RPGs as a player or GM there is something very cool about playing with minis you painted. It personalizes the game that much more. And you don't need a hundred colors. The three primary colors, white, black, and if you are living on the edge a couple of shades to pull the details out. I find it to be a very relaxing process.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 21, 2021, 06:05:40 AM
I ordered some brass spears from North Star miniatures - definitely drop proof

For what line of miniatures are you using them on? The Army of the Dead figures have very tiny hands and I do not think I could hand drill a hole to fit a new spear. I think I would have to do some sort of simple green stuff modelling to shape a hand.

LOTR angmar orcs which are Mordor orcs - hand drill works just fine as they already have a clenched fist for holding the plastic spear
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 21, 2021, 07:58:33 PM
It's really only the one's with a milk like consistency that are really at high risk for spilling and making a big mess. So your inks, washes, and I suspect the new contrast style paint lines. Otherwise, if you are using a dropper bottle or your brush to scoop paint out of a pot to put some on your pallet. Its a very small amount especially if you are doing only one or two figures at a time.


Unless of course the dropper bottle is clogged and you stubbornly squeeze it to clear said clog. And then the clog clears, along with half the bottle of paint all over your work surface and other models waiting to be painted ...... :censored:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 21, 2021, 08:00:45 PM
Done this - detritus still stuck to the wall
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 22, 2021, 11:15:10 PM
Army of the Dead is now complete. Next group to be painted is the Rohan foot and then I will address the horse and riders. I really need to think through how I want to paint the horses.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 13, 2021, 11:58:44 PM
Work has gotten the better of my hobby time the past couple of weeks so progress slowed a little on Rohan warriors. I have the paint schemes sorted out for the most part and the foot are lined up to be painted over the Thanksgiving holiday.

However, I did get sidetracked by some new plastics this evening. I started to assemble some English foot knights for Lion's Rampant. We are going to play the spearmen as foot sergeants and the sword and hammers as man-at-arms. This will provide some variation of units. I have a box of bowmen and be history is taking a back seat to fun and both the English and French will get longbow until I get French crossbowmen. Also, I have boxes of heavy knights and light horsemen (crossbow/spears) for cavalry on both sides. All told this is about 36 points or to assemble forces for both the French and English.

Now I will post some images later but anyone who has worked with Perry Miniatures medieval models will understand...the face guards are a pain in the backside to put on the model.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 14, 2021, 12:01:05 AM
Mental reminder to myself: work on the terrain!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on November 14, 2021, 01:06:29 AM
However, I did get sidetracked

How terribly unusual -- for any of us.  :silly: 




Mental reminder to myself: work on the terrain!

Terrain?  As in maps you can paint, or actual 3D terrain pieces of some sort? 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 14, 2021, 02:07:58 PM
Mental reminder to myself: work on the terrain!

I've always enjoy the terrain making part of the hobby way more than painting the minis.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 14, 2021, 02:39:43 PM
Mental reminder to myself: work on the terrain!

Terrain?  As in maps you can paint, or actual 3D terrain pieces of some sort?

3D terrain for the table. Mostly some sort of fields, forests, and hills. At some point, I need to build fences and walls.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 14, 2021, 10:41:06 PM
Fact.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on November 15, 2021, 03:12:22 AM
Ha! 

If *you're* having this much trouble with the stuff, then I'm definitely glad I'm not trying to myself.  I would spill more than I'd use! 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 15, 2021, 07:22:51 AM
Fact.

 ;D ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 24, 2021, 10:08:34 AM
Ha! 

If *you're* having this much trouble with the stuff, then I'm definitely glad I'm not trying to myself.  I would spill more than I'd use!

Well, one of the benefits of having a nearly empty pot of paint is there is much less to spill! :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: BanzaiCat on November 24, 2021, 10:11:15 AM
This is definitely one thing I'm not looking forward to. I'm a klutz at heart so my own painting should be interesting. :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 26, 2021, 02:42:58 AM
Photos will come later but I finally got back around to painting the Rohan and finished the first five footmen. The green paints I used did not behave well, so I will most likely have to go back and redo some of the cloak work. It's not that they are horrible but I am not happy with the outcome. The dark green paint I used provided crap coverage. It and the base color green were very chalky like white paint.

I have also built my first 12 English men-at-arms and six longbowmen for my Lion's Rampant project. I just need to decide what I want to do in terms of basing. I am inclined to just go with fender washers. However, I am contemplating putting them on 20mm individual bases to use with Hail Ceasar or Warhammer Ancient Battles rulesets too.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 26, 2021, 01:19:43 PM
I just need to spend some time going through my paints. Found two more pots, both green, that are bad. One has the consistency of dyed milk with water added for good measure.  The other one has all of its pigments collected into a hard mass and separated from all the medium (think water). Neither paint is salvageable. And I confirmed my dark green is also of a very watery consistency hence the crappy coverage. Should have noticed the other night but I did not. It's what happens when I paint at midnight and zone out listening to Coast to Coast AM.

I need to decide if I want to replace with Citadel or give Army Painter a go...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 26, 2021, 09:58:09 PM
Rohan footmen. These guys ended up being a pain to paint. My paints as I have said were causing me issues. They turned out good enough and I learned some valuable lessons. Next batch I am dealing with the shield features differently. I may go back and give another thinned earth shade wash. There is one with three horse heads in a circle that I hate with the fire of nine hells. I think I am going to paint each head a different color or at least a different tone of white/tan. The hair is much more straw-colored by the photo really amplified the yellow highlights.

The cloaks...good night they pissed me off. Ended up repainting and using a sage green color to recreate a weathered effect highlight. Then I used a homebrewed black-green ink wash to tie the colors together and remove the chalking effect. They look decent but ink washes do not settle in the detail as well as citadel washes do and they are a bit finicky. DO NOT mess with ink while it drys otherwise trouble this way comes.

Anywho they are ready for the table other than a flesh shade wash on the gold to dull it a bit and give it a better tone.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 26, 2021, 10:07:22 PM
They look great

As someone who paints with only washes and inks I hear you about disturbing drying ink - tear that surface and it’ll never go back again 😩
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 26, 2021, 10:14:22 PM
The Lion's Rampant project update. This one makes me happy after dealing with the damn Rohan cloak debacle. Ok not the face guards...they can piss a guy off as they are a very, very tiny individual piece with three points attached to the sprue so trimming off the flash is a hassle, and did I mention they are very tiny? Anyway, by the fifth or sixth knight, I got putting the mask on down.

I have another six archers, 18 men-at-arms, and a good dozen mounted knights to build for the English, and then I can deal with the French.

Note to self: buy a bottle of silver airbrush paint. Trust me. I will thank myself for it later.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 26, 2021, 10:17:53 PM
They look great

As someone who paints with only washes and inks I hear you about disturbing drying ink - tear that surface and it’ll never go back again 😩

Yes, a disturbed ink wash can never be fixed properly short of stripping the paints. The issue I have on these particular ones is I had to go deal with a kid situation and some of it pooled in a spot I did not want it to. So it will remain and I will move on.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 27, 2021, 12:24:58 AM
I found by accident that the solution you use to put decals on is ‘wash tippex’ - any slip or splodge can be removed using it - I use it to clean up borders where a wash is going on and a darker wash has crossed over

Love the medieval figures - it would probably be my next project if my painting time was my own there’s some great examples on Instagram and Facebook
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 27, 2021, 03:28:10 AM
Never heard of it will have to do some interweb searching.

Well...sounds to me like painting up some knights is a possible long-term side project. I like both the English and French miniatures. But I think in terms of ease of play for Lion's Rampant an earlier crusader period might have been a better option. There is a very clear distinction between full plate knights, sergeants, and the common foot. Whereas the Hundred Years War Perry miniatures are really only plated men-at-arms and then archers with their quilted and leather armor.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on November 27, 2021, 04:21:41 PM
Ok not the face guards...they can piss a guy off as they are a very, very tiny individual piece with three points attached to the sprue so trimming off the flash is a hassle, and did I mention they are very tiny? Anyway, by the fifth or sixth knight, I got putting the mask on down.

You. Put. The. Face. Guards. On. Manually.  :o  :hypnotize:

Your hand-eye coordination is much better than mine.

"Yeah, he's got the mask on the side of his head. He's very protective of his ear. Deal."
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 28, 2021, 12:21:23 PM

You. Put. The. Face. Guards. On. Manually.  :o  :hypnotize:


Yup. It's how Perry designed the models to increase the variety of poses across 6 same body poses. I admit it was a frustrating process the first few minis but I learn a "method" to get them in place.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 28, 2021, 12:27:35 PM
Painted a batch of seven Rohan over the last couple of evenings to finish up the footmen. On average, I would say each mini due to details and an increased color pallet took 1.5x - 2x longer to paint than an orc. The upside is I think I can my painting steps in the future for any additional footmen if needed. I think the cloaks ended up look pretty decent. I ended up using a heavy highlight and black-green ink to wash and put some depth to the fabric folds.



 Now it's time to move on to the horsemen!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 28, 2021, 01:00:08 PM
Cloaks are great - you would have got that exact colour with biel tan green wash - just finished a model with same colours but it was a dress
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 28, 2021, 01:52:59 PM
Yeah, I need to pick up some of that wash but I had already used the inks on the other units. I might grab a bottle of the wash for the horsemen.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 28, 2021, 02:26:26 PM
I really like how those Rohan figures are coming out!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 30, 2021, 09:23:23 AM
A local shop had a sale going on this weekend so I picked up some washes for the paint rack; Casandora Yellow, Beil-Tan Green, and Saraphim Sepia. More tools for the kit bag. I really need to invest in a hot wire cutter for foam board to work on terrain pieces.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 30, 2021, 09:48:52 AM
Great washes - Cassandra is lovely - couple of extra coats and it’ll do for a good orange too
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 30, 2021, 12:22:52 PM
I part of me wished I had the yellow wash for Rohan's hair color. I think the shadowing effect would have been more interesting to work with rather than a diluted brown.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on November 30, 2021, 05:22:18 PM
I use cassandora for blonde
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 30, 2021, 09:12:09 PM
I've been using Scale 75 paints and contrasts as well as dabbling with oils lately.  When oil works well, it's awesome. When I use it, results are much less than awesome...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 01, 2021, 02:05:31 AM
Brave soul. I can confidently say that I have no desire to work with oil paints. Although, I suspect you can get amazing results from blending the paints.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 01, 2021, 10:43:05 PM
I mostly use it for weathering effects.  When it works, it looks so much better than what you can get with acrylic bases glazes and washes.  It works best on larger scale models.  I've been trying it on 1/300 scale PT boats and it's really just a sloppy mess.  Too many tiny nooks and crannies on the models that soak up the oil and it's impossible to get it back out.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 13, 2021, 12:55:47 AM
I have six horses painted. I like the look of the brown and beige colored horses. But I need to relook the black ones. They need a stronger highlight but I always find black a pain to highlight nicely. I tried to go with a blue hue however the washes really took the color away. So right now they are pretty meh and not much different than the black primer. I will post some photos in the next day or two.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on December 13, 2021, 05:12:56 AM
I dry brush black with mechanicus grey - it’s not light, almost not there until you stand back and see it
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 13, 2021, 06:43:10 PM
I will have to look into that color. I think the key is to be more selective on targeting the shaded areas with Nuln Oil and perhaps diluting it to 3:1 or 4:1 with water or Lahmian Medium.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 15, 2021, 04:49:17 AM
Two more horses are done and four more to go then I need to deal with the riders...I think I want to bust out the airbrush and do the fell beast and the troll soon but I should wait until I have more of the 100 Years War armies ready to prime.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 15, 2021, 09:07:02 AM
It's good to get some practice in painting horses since I have a couple of dozen to paint for the English and French armies too.

I do not like how the black horses turned out. The paint looks just flat with little to no highlighting/shadows.  I may need to go back and rework them. The others look pretty good. I really like the tan one with the white mane. The photo doesn't do it justice. All there is left to do is paint the bridle and saddle on the four so I can finish up the remaining Rohan horses.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 18, 2021, 10:29:40 AM
I need to replace my bottle of Agrax Earthshade...things happened. I may need to shift the focus off painting for a bit to work on other crafty things. Mostly I need to secure the bottles better...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on December 18, 2021, 11:27:19 AM
Oh dear.  ;D  Cats again? 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 16, 2022, 11:44:55 AM
Life has been very busy the past month and into the next couple as well. However, some progress has been made in the hobby arena. The horses have been completed and work on the riders is ongoing. Built a few more of the English models for the Hundred Years War armies. The biggest update is the table "dream" has become a reality minus the window. I will post photos later.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on January 16, 2022, 11:48:07 AM
 :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 01:51:48 PM
I have COVID...again...vaccine did not prevent it...sleep...cough...more sleep...cough...I hate sitting or lying around. So what is a guy to do in isolation? If you guessed find the MDF board and insulation foam to craft scatter terrain you would be correct!

Sorry Riders of Rohan. You are on the list but more pressing matters are at hand and as my wife says..."I fell into an ADHD hyper-focus zone."

I decided to build some Stone Henge-like scatter terrain and paint some other smaller pieces for the newly started family AD&D campaign. We are playing 2e AD&D this time. Mostly because I wanted to play with the rules and decide if it's a system I want to run on Fantasy Grounds. That however is a tale for another day.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 01:53:08 PM
Stone-henge inspired scatter terrain. Four pieces in total.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 01:56:19 PM
Single stones. This time with a pre-ground base painted photo for posterity's sake. I went with square bases. I wanted to do more artistic curves but I could not locate the jigsaw in my COVID-induced stupor.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 01:58:24 PM
Painted up some stuff to jazz up the dungeons and other rooms. Barrels, chests of treasure, a desk and table, a cauldron, and an evil alter thingy. Barrels are a surprisingly huge pain in the ass to paint.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 02:01:23 PM
Lastly, I finally broke out a Christmas gift from the family a huge bottle of Vallejo acrylic Earth Texture. I love this stuff. It's very easy to work and dries incredibly hard. Highly recommend this product. Anyway, I still need to paint and flock but you can see the end result of the product after it dries.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on January 20, 2022, 02:33:02 PM
1. That sucks that you've got COVID again

2. It doesn't suck that you produced some very cool terrain!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 03:06:34 PM
Thanks. An interesting artifact of the crafting process is the blood on the unbroken broken stone. It is visible in the photo on the long stone lying on the ground. I stabbed my thumb with my Exacto knife. It's fitting as a blood offering at a druidic site. :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: mcguire on January 20, 2022, 04:04:49 PM
The true artist bleeds for his work.  ;)  :applause:

But power tools and any kind of stupor do not mix.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 20, 2022, 09:43:03 PM
I am working on slightly less deadly scatter terrain now. Simple tree stands to give the table an impression of woods. Of course, I am using a high-temperature hot glue gun so burning myself is always a very likely possibility. Blood and burnt offerings...the punishment I tolerate for the sake of art. :D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on January 20, 2022, 10:12:25 PM
Can never have to much scatter terrain!

Careful with letting blood on your druidic terrain, you never know what kind of unholy mini abomination you might summon  ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Staggerwing on January 21, 2022, 06:34:52 AM
Great stuff bison!

Feel better soon.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 22, 2022, 08:48:03 PM
Isolation is coming to an end and I had one last project burst. It all started on a sunny but cold Friday morning. Bored I decided to grab my jar of sand, the wife's colander, and head out to the driveway. Nothing demonstrates a sort of crafting lunacy like sifting sand. Separating big grains of sand from little grains of sand. I do not remember the words spoken at me by the wife about her colander but I am sure they were positive and encouraging sentiments.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 22, 2022, 08:55:32 PM
After a good 30 to 40 minutes of pretending I was on a sunny beach...I grabbed the skill saw, MDF, and a carpenter's square. I am a minimalist Dungeon Master. A little terrain goes a long way and frankly, nearly every encounter in D&D can be captured in a 24 x 24-inch space. So those are the dimensions I cut my future battle board to...well sort of. A 24-inch board is actually between 23 1/2 to 23 3/4 inches. I am not a rocket scientist but I am sure there is a logical reason for this discrepancy. Cut the board and used the sander to bevel and soften the edges. I followed that up with a good few handfuls of newly sorted grains of sand and a half of bottle of Mod Podge. I think I may have an unhealthy crafting love of Mod Podge.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 22, 2022, 09:04:31 PM
I suffer from insomnia occasionally. So to fend off the middle of the night boredom, I do things to occupy my time. It's quiet at night and I get oddly productive. Really need to do some research on biorhythms and sleep habits. Anyway, I painted the board an earth tone. I like to use sponges to paint. They really make effective blending and painting tools. The board is mostly painted burnt umber and given color variation with a mixture of orange, yellow, and a light brown called chestnut. I like it. It looked very cool but a proper board is flocked with three green tones to make it look all grassy and such. So I smeared Elmer's glue on the board and flocked to my heart's content. I would have used Mod Podge but I used it all sticking the sand to the board earlier in the day. Sorry Mod, I still think you are the best! I put some of the newly build terrain on the board for perspective.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on January 22, 2022, 09:15:23 PM
After catching a few hours of sleep as the sun was rising, cleaning up the back yard, setting up a bouncy hut, vacuuming the downstairs, beating the dust out of the house rugs - it was time. Time to set up for the family's weekly AD&D campaign gaming session. I still need to put a final seal on the flocking but it takes 24 to 48 hours to fully cure. And I had no time for that today. We had a game to play and I really wanted to give the new board a whirl.

I decided last night...or early this morning...I do not want to learn new rules for role-playing at my table. I like 1st edition. I know 1st edition. I have many 1st edition books. We went back to using 1st edition rules. Also, I made a new 1st edition character sheet on a Word document at 0400 this morning. No way in hell was I going to be playing that new-fangled 2nd edition. Not anytime soon anyway.

Anyway here is the board and terrain set-up with all of the necessary materials ready to go for the gaming session. I think it turned out nice and it was a very fun session. Best moment..."OK, Thunder of Death (one of my 6-year-old boy's human fighter) the skeleton is approaching you with his rusty sword...what do you do?" "I offer him an arrow as a sign of peace!" "Uh, ok.... :o ;D"
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 11, 2022, 01:42:58 PM
Work took me away from the crafting table for several weeks but I have a little time again so... I now face a significant first-world dilemma. I have multiple projects going that need to be worked on...finishing my Rohan Riders...making some swamp and additional forest scatter terrain...we started to play through Keep on the Borderlands so I need to deal with some cavern terrain...paint a couple of character miniatures for the kids...the Hundred Years War army modeling...

Maybe I need to start fewer projects? Ha! Who am I kidding? Knowing myself I will end up crafting something completely different than one of the many projects I should be working on.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on March 11, 2022, 01:48:02 PM
Project creep - seems like a good idea at the time  :tickedoff:

I have 3 - nearly completed 2
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 11, 2022, 01:52:53 PM
Yes, it does...I really need to get the riders done. I think of all the projects this is the one I need to just sit down and power through but I in my infinite wisdom failed to write down my color scheme. So it'll take some time to pull all of the appropriate paints.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 13, 2022, 06:22:13 PM
I painted a couple of miniatures last night for my boys to use during our campaign. I gave myself an hour per figure. Good, bad, or indifferent. I held the line but the detailing suffered a bit. However, they are more than good enough for the table.

The fighter is going to be used to represent "Thunder of Death." I call him Thundar but my reference is lost on every single person at the table. A favorite cartoon of mine growing up when waking up early on Saturday mornings was a weekly ritual. The model was a bit of a pain in the backside. As is the case with many Wizkids miniatures, the details can be a bit hit or miss. I would have done more detailed work but, honestly, it was getting a bit annoying to figure out where the different layers started and stopped.

The thief is named "Money Bags." I used this figure to look at different exciting brown tones. I got lazy and did not do a whole lot of shading and high lighting work.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 13, 2022, 06:26:40 PM
OK. So I sat down to start dealing with the Rohan Riders and then I discovered a problem. Not the sort that ends a project but certainly a setback and an annoyance of oversight. As you will notice my dear friends with significantly more attention span than myself, one of these damned horses is not like the others. :tickedoff:

Now I have to paint yet another dang horse. So much for getting out the alligator clips and a foam block to paint the actual horse riders.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on March 13, 2022, 06:32:06 PM
Good to see you back behind a brush again  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on March 13, 2022, 08:16:09 PM
I painted a couple of miniatures last night for my boys to use during our campaign. I gave myself an hour per figure. Good, bad, or indifferent. I held the line but the detailing suffered a bit. However, they are more than good enough for the table.

The fighter is going to be used to represent "Thunder of Death." I call him Thundar but my reference is lost on every single person at the table. A favorite cartoon of mine growing up when waking up early on Saturday mornings was a weekly ritual. The model was a bit of a pain in the backside. As is the case with many Wizkids miniatures, the details can be a bit hit or miss. I would have done more detailed work but, honestly, it was getting a bit annoying to figure out where the different layers started and stopped.

The thief is named "Money Bags." I used this figure to look at different exciting brown tones. I got lazy and did not do a whole lot of shading and high lighting work.

Those came out great!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 14, 2022, 03:30:35 AM
Thanks, gentlemen.

I started painting some future monsters for the campaign. A group of zombies and some giant spiders. I need to find a minotaur and a lich model. The lich can wait because the current campaign is beginning to take shape and the antagonist is Kras the Deceiver. Kras is a mage gone bad who has transformed into a lich over the ages. The minotaur is a more immediate concern because the party is traveling to investigate rumors of the Lost Library of Kras the Deceiver. I am building the library into a multiple-level maze of bookshelves and corridors. I will use the much-underutilized bookwork from Monster Manual 2 to lay waste to the collection of magical scrolls and books but want the main encounter to be with a minotaur. And because Kras is a lich, there will be a healthy dose of undead wandering the library to guard his prized scrolls and books all these many centuries later.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 15, 2022, 10:08:46 AM
I opened a couple of the worst cast miniatures I have ever purchased last night. The mold was clearly not filled with resin. I still painted the ghouls and will use them at some point. However, the quality is a bit disappointing.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on March 15, 2022, 10:37:33 AM
GW?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 15, 2022, 12:03:31 PM
Wizkids. Most of the mini is fine but the thin casting is located on the legs where they connect to the base. It’s a flimsy model.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 16, 2022, 01:34:57 PM
I somehow lost the makeup brush I bought to do dry brushing. It might be time to declutter the crafting table.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on March 16, 2022, 02:27:03 PM
I used to like the GW brushes. I still have a few left including some un-used ones. The dry brushing brush I always found to be very good.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on March 16, 2022, 05:28:21 PM
It’s all about cheap ass make up brushes now for dry brushing
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 16, 2022, 06:13:00 PM
Mine had a bamboo handle.  Bamboo!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on March 16, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Brush up-manship?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on March 16, 2022, 08:51:58 PM
Mine had a bamboo handle.  Bamboo!

😂

That’s just fancy!!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 22, 2022, 07:45:57 PM
I finished up 4 zombies, 2 ghouls, and 1 druid for the AD&D campaign. I need to work on the spiders. Of course, the legs are spaced out further than the base which may cause some gluing issues. I will try to post a photo later and if I get super motivated I just might try and figure out how to post them without the image being sideways,
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 03, 2022, 01:05:33 AM
I got sidetracked. A magic user for another one of the kids, a mimic, and a bunch of dungeon clutter (crates, barrels, bookshelves...). I need to prime most of the dungeon terrain pieces. This means I need to get the airbrush out which is good because I also have a couple dozen Hundred Years War knights that need to be primed and base painted silver. I really should start doing micro-reviews too. Several of the decorative pieces are cheap 3D printed pieces and others are from manufacturers like Reaper or Wizkids. I also have an MDF board cut to do some more terrain. Not sure if I want to make some more forest pieces or start on some swamp pieces...


And photos. I need to post some of them too.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 03, 2022, 11:53:00 AM
A couple of photos of the minis I painted last week.

The zombies are very shiny. I think I must have used a gloss shade. I could put a matte finish on them but I am not sure I care too much. They look decent from an arm's length away. Besides zombies could be covered in gross slime from decomposition, I guess. Hard to see in the photo but the ghoul's legs are very, very thin. It makes the mini very flexible on the base and potentially prone to breaking.

The druid looks pretty nice but perhaps I should look at painting more details on faces. I do not really like painting eyes. It's a huge hassle to make look decent and the same is true of mouths. But again at arm's length, she looks really good.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on April 03, 2022, 12:23:27 PM
Those came out great!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Tolstoi on April 03, 2022, 12:28:04 PM
100% agree with Command Tent, those figures look very good.  :notworthy:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 03, 2022, 12:54:53 PM
Looks great!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Double Deuce on April 03, 2022, 01:35:49 PM
Nice!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 03, 2022, 02:46:05 PM
Thank you gentlemen.

I forgot I am in the middle of finishing up the three evil cult leaders for the campaign. The players are making their way to the lost library of Kraz the Betrayer and the first step toward encountering a lich who is Kraz himself. They have many, many levels to gain before they can even consider taking on Kraz. A lich is not an easy monster to confront. But first, I need to paint the last player character which is a magic user.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Staggerwing on April 03, 2022, 03:38:00 PM
Looking good!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 04, 2022, 09:09:06 PM
The Devotees of Kraz the Betrayer.  I still need to work on their stats and such but the minis are done and ready for the table.

The Auger of Kraz is wearing a blue cloak and yellowish clam diggers. :) I think he will be a shamanic cleric. I may just go with the druid spell lists.

The Doomsayer of Kraz has a black cloak, mail armor, and a ginormous sword. He will be an anti-paladin.

The Oracle of Kraz has a fancy blue/green-silverish cloak and fancy armor. She will be an illusionist. I experimented on the base to have a mystical feel. Not sure I achieved it but I like the color.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Tolstoi on April 05, 2022, 01:01:29 AM
I experimented on the base to have a mystical feel. Not sure I achieved it but I like the color.
I like all the bases. In fact, my eye was drawn to all three bases, as I felt you complemented the figures nicely with the way you based your figs. Again, excellent work! :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 10, 2022, 02:03:33 AM
I have been using all of my limited hobby time focused on individual fantasy miniatures. I need to get back to completing the MESBG figures and get around to doing some historicals.

I am about a hair's breadth away from going in on some Black Powder Epic Scale American Civil War. We played it a few months ago. It plays well and looks good on the table. I really want to do Black Powder (and Sharpe's Practice) American War for Independence and some Hail Ceasar but 28mm is a beast to get whole armies done.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 10, 2022, 07:18:15 AM
Yep, 28mm is a beast. Apart from all the  WH40K stuff I had, I stuck to 15mm as a nice balance. It fits quite well on a moderately size table and does allow for some bigger battles.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 10, 2022, 08:54:20 AM
That's why I do games based on vehicles (Battletech, Cruel Seas, Tanks!, Federation Commander, etc).  Far less stuff to paint. 



I still have a backlog larger than my completed pile....


I have about 20 tanks in 15mm scale for the Desert War that I was plugging away at bur then the Speedpaints showed up and distracted me.  Now I just keep experimenting with them  on my practice minis.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 12, 2022, 10:29:44 AM
Whelp…I have a Black Powder Epic ACW starter box being delivered today.

I need to start packing up stuff for a move over the next couple of weeks. But I am going to prime the set on the sprue before I pack up the airbrush. I plan on painting with model color. They sell a civil war paint set which is very reasonably priced. I want to use a more matte finished paint rather than the more glossy game color and citadel lines. However, I am going to have to varnish them as I don’t think it holds up as well without it.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 12, 2022, 01:05:04 PM
One of my gaming buddies bought into the Epic scale ACW series 7-8 months ago.  He's been painting away since then and says he was finished the Rebs and was set to start on the Union but then he ordered more units (dismounted skirmishers, I think) and scenery so he's back working on the Rebs.  I figure we'll probably get a game started sometime in 2023?

 
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 20, 2022, 05:09:39 PM
I am trying to decide how to tackle the significant pile of Black Powder epic ACW plastic, metal, and MDF I now find myself with after losing my ever-living mind. I have the starter box and boxes of cavalry, dismounted cavalry, skirmishers, leader packs, and several MDF buildings. The biggest issue is I want to actually play the game as I paint the miniatures over the next several months. I think I will have to prime and paint the artillery first. Of course, if I prime them on the sprue as is my plan, I will lose the colored plastic separating the US and CSA forces. The wife thinks I need an intervention. I think I just need to just start priming and putting the artillery together. I also need to build out my color palettes and develop a scheme to magnetize the bases. I have plans. Many, many plans.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 20, 2022, 05:12:34 PM
Step 1: Clean your damn hobby table, Bison!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 20, 2022, 06:18:22 PM
Everything has hobby potential. This is a mantra I try to live by daily. And so it was I found myself on a beach this past weekend. Sure the family was with me and we had a lot of fun building sandcastles, boogie boarding, swimming, and getting, let's call it, a tan. I love the ocean. The white noise made by the water is soothing. It gives me moments of zen and inspiration.

And so I found myself laying on the beach, initially identifying with the plight of beached whales and questioning whether my sunblock lotion was working or not.
(https://i.imgur.com/FXwvXAo.jpg?1)

Walking toward the ocean...
(https://i.imgur.com/4uXOKPb.jpg)

It dawned on me. The shells are perfect. Not the ones that actually look the part with their curves and ridges. But the ones that are worn down by the waves.
(https://i.imgur.com/AlZvstf.jpg)

And so I set about a great project of gathering a motherload of shells. You see my dear friends. They look exactly like rocks. Miniature boulders with a perfect rim to apply super glue and adhere to a piece of MDF. A little plaster or air dry clay to smooth out transitions...look closely and you will see.
(https://i.imgur.com/io9jbjS.jpg)

And so I brought home a gallon bag of shells and sand from South Padre Island to use in crafting. Sure I have sand already. Play sand and construction sand. But not sweet sand smoothed by centuries of waves washing over them grinding them down into perfection.
(https://i.imgur.com/4uoZO7X.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/s4TSf2D.jpg)

Keep your eyes open. Craft possibilities surround you!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on April 20, 2022, 06:26:56 PM
Judging by the pictures your sunblock lotion was not working.  :whistle:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 20, 2022, 06:39:16 PM
Judging by the pictures your sunblock lotion was not working.  :whistle:

Factual statement. I am molting quite nicely however.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 20, 2022, 07:53:10 PM
Mmmmmm ...Bison jerky....
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 20, 2022, 11:57:47 PM
I finished my Rohan horses tonight in the first step of cleaning up the projects on the hobby table. The goal is to finish and glue the 12 riders to the horses by end of the weekend. I need to pick up some alligator clips or wooden skewers to paint the riders. I painted the horses and riders separately which in theory is a good thing but it did create a good amount of extra preparation work.

I also need to break out the airbrush to paint the fell beast and troll.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 23, 2022, 04:22:08 PM
I started to paint some very, very tiny civil war miniatures. The scale is very challenging compared to 28mm. I really need to relook how I am going about painting them.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 23, 2022, 04:49:42 PM
Airbrush 😂

Regiments done in seconds
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 23, 2022, 05:39:06 PM
Airbrush 😂

Regiments done in seconds

I seriously considered airbrushing the union blue as I was priming the sprues. I am pretty sure I could at least have a couple of brigades with blue pants. :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 23, 2022, 06:32:52 PM
My friend who's plugging away at his 15mm ACW stuff says he has had very good results using the following method.

Black primer on all the minis.  Heavy, general highlight with off-white paint using a drybrush.  Slight zenethal highlight with white ink using airbrush.  Wash with heavily diluted black wash (Not sure if he was using Nuln oil or Army painter dark tone).

Paint figs using Citadel Contrast Paints.  One light coat to let shading show through.


From what I've seen, they look pretty good for tabletop standard.  Some are a bit too dark because he didn't do enough white drybrushing at the start but those minis end up in the middle of the stands and actually look better there because of the increased shadow effect.



Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 23, 2022, 08:01:24 PM
I considered using contrast paints but I am not sure I have the brush control to keep it only in the right area. I really need to just stop over-focusing on the details. I only primed grey but should have gone black with a zenithal highlight. I see now how having the base black layer helps cover the little tiny spots of missed paint coverage.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 24, 2022, 12:11:34 AM
Painting outside the lines with contrast paints is no big deal.  You can always go patch things up with some more primer.  The biggest issue I have with them is applying an even coat.  You can't dab away or you'll end up with easily visible brush stroke lines and uneven coverage.  I find the best approach is to keep the brush in constant contact with the mini and try to paint an area in one even motion.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 24, 2022, 10:42:21 AM
I bought Army Painter to try out to use on this project. I do not like them at all. I need to put the bottles on the paint shaker and see if that helps. But they are very inconsistent with the paint thickness. Either the paint is water-thin even after shaking for several minutes or it's (very rarely) super thick. I do not mind the thicker consistency at all. I actually prefer it because then it can be thin as normal. But the water consistency stuff is so very frustrating. So far only 2 colors out of 6 or 7 I have tried have been decent - monster brown and electric blue. I really should have gone with my gut instinct and gone with Vallejo Model Color or experiment with Contrast paints.

Fortunately, I am not very far into the process and can course correct and try out new paint techniques. I have one strip done to put a strong tone on to see if the Army Painter experiment needs to just be ended.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 24, 2022, 10:44:27 AM
Oh no - here hoping the shaker works out
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 24, 2022, 10:44:51 AM
Oh no - here’s hoping the shaker works out
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 24, 2022, 10:46:39 AM


Yeah, regular Army Painter paints are pretty crap.

Squidmar just did a ranking of most if the major paint brands available a d ended up declaring Vallejo the best.

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 24, 2022, 10:48:05 AM
Oh no - here hoping the shaker works out

Me too. I also think I can do a heavier prime than I did. I was overly worried about covering up detail but a base black coat with either a grey zenithal highlight or a heavy dry brush will make the process much easier too.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 24, 2022, 10:49:20 AM
Yeah, regular Army Painter paints are pretty crap.

Squidmar just did a rankinh of most if the major paint brands available a d ended up declaring Vallejo the best.

I had never used it and wanted to give it a try. It's hot garbage so far in my experience. I have always used Vallejo and some Citadel paints.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 24, 2022, 10:52:24 AM
Speed paint or normal army painter - I would have strongly advised against normal if you’d mentioned it - some people swear by them but I’ve had nothing but wallpaper paste or dirty water - storing them nose down worked but in the end I stuck with GW - there’s a reason they’re pricey
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 24, 2022, 11:06:55 AM
I started with Citadel but I hate the pots so I branched out.  I mostly use Vallejo and AK.  I also really like the War Colors line from Scale 75.  I think the Colours of War line for Flames of War has been the most disappointing.  The colours look nice but the paints smell bad and they rub off easily.  Quality wise, I'd say either Army Painter, MIG, or Green Stuff World are the worst I've tried.  The contrast paints from Scale 75 were also a letdown.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 25, 2022, 11:49:25 AM
This first line was an absolute nightmare from a painting perspective. I encountered two major issues.

1. My painting experience is almost exclusively 28mm. There is a learning curve to painting at 15mm and below. I do not mind not having the best-looking figures on the first go at all. They will still play well on the table. The figures do not look bad from an arm's length distance. I think as I paint more lines of infantry certain things will shake out. Specifically, the little details and where to use highlights and shadows to accentuate or not. Also, I think stronger colors for highlights and shadow will help pop the miniature on the table.

2. Army Painter paints...I am not sure where to begin. Some of the colors performed well. The electric blue on the pants and the monster brown on the bedrolls. I think the blue is too bright for the effect I want but it works. At least the dang paint was applied in two easily controlled coats of paint. Every single other color was hot garbage. Watery messes of consistency that were impossible to control. They would flow off the surface and into the detail like a wash. Just a mess. I used the strong tone wash. I do not get the love of this product. It applied like a gel. It didn't settle into the recesses of the miniature. Did not do a particularly good job of creating contrast in my opinion. I even used some of their wash media to "help." It just created a more diluted mess of gel posing in the form of a wash.

Anyway, here is the front of the line infantry. The dark blue and the brown/tan paints were a mess. Lack of coverage and the paint spread all over the place. I touched them up to be sufficient for a back line rank. I did not deal with the facial hair.
(https://i.imgur.com/1Op10Ax.jpg?1)

The back of the line. I spent some time trying to clean up the details on the back of the miniatures. I think they turned out pretty decent and will look good. There is a good amount of little details to help bring color to the ranks that I will paint more deliberately in the future. I did touch up a few pieces not shown here like the bayonet scabbard a canteen or two I missed.
(https://i.imgur.com/YuHcIeQ.jpg)

I couple of other random thoughts on this initial experiment.

1. I generally really like the sculptures. However, Warlord should have done separate Union and Confederate sprues for the game. I think most wargamers would prefer their Union troops to have kepi hats and not a mix of kepi and slouch caps. This mix works for the Confederates as their uniforms were not as standardized. The Iron Brigade special models have the Hardee cap which is a nice distinguishing feature. I do not own any but have seen them in person. I may spend the time to trim the brim of the slouch caps for the union into kepis but it's a lot of work to add to an already time-consuming process. I realize it would have cost Warlord and ultimately consumers more but I think most would have preferred a slight price increase to better distinguish the uniforms of the two armies.

2. I will prime my next sprues differently. I will try a black base primer and a zenithal highlight. I am not sure how much this will really help the shadowing at this scale but it will help deal with the microscopic recesses that stick out after painting if you prime in a light color only.

3. I like Vallejo and Citadel paints. Neither paint line is perfect but I am very comfortable working with them. I have some Vallejo Model Color paints coming to replace the Army Painter colors going forward. Also, I will just use the Citadel shades. I do not even know why I tried something new other than to try something new.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 25, 2022, 11:59:37 AM
Got to say they look great to me 
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on April 25, 2022, 12:01:13 PM
Got to say they look great to me

+1  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on April 25, 2022, 12:03:59 PM
I agree. Very nice work!

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 25, 2022, 12:07:04 PM
They look excellent!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 25, 2022, 12:23:20 PM
Thank you, gentlemen, for the kind words.

The bigger issue of concern on this initial foray is the time it took to get them presentable. I think this single stand took around 4+ hours to fix. This is the factor I am actually really trying to address - reducing time spent per unit. The actual learning of time-saving painting techniques for 15mm will come with practice but better quality paints will certainly help. Or at least, I hope it will. :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 26, 2022, 10:24:54 PM






Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 26, 2022, 11:08:17 PM
He does some really good work. I am considering using contrast paints still mostly for dark blue. There is a lot of detail and little indentations that are hard to get to. I think my biggest error was not doing a black primer first with a zenithal. I do it on 28mm and it helps hide a lot of little spaces even at that scale I think it would be very beneficial.

I painted another stand tonight and am just waiting for the shade to dry before doing some highlighting. I used Vallejo paints and it went much smoother but the jacket part of the model is just something I will need to get used to painting. I did use agrax earth shade which  I think is too dark and needs to be either thinned down or I need to use sepia wash next time. It's a learning process for sure. The good news is the minis will be played at my table with the kids. So I am not going for any awards or anything. I might even try to use the airbrush to knock out the base coat of blue on both the pants and the jackets. The other details like straps and blanket rolls are fairly easy with a brush. Anyway, I only have about 2780 troops left to paint so I have plenty to learn some techniques.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 27, 2022, 10:44:35 AM
I painted the latest trial Union line infantry with Vallejo Model Colors. The pants had already been done with Army Painter Electric Blue base coat. I did cut the paint time down from 4+ hours to closer to an hour. So making progress on that front. Eventually, I want to do batch painting to knock out the units faster.

A couple of observations.

1. Agrax Earthshade is too dark without being diluted a bit. I think given the amount of blue I may wash the uniform with a blue wash and then do the details or try Sepia for a lighter brown. Or try and learn how to use the diluted strong tone...decisions will need to be made.

2. I used Prussian Blue for the topcoat which is a great color. I also switched to flat black from a dark grey for the black leather straps and ammo pouches. It was too dark, particularly after being washed. I think I may lighten the blue tone a bit and switch back to a dark grey. It will make the highlighting and base colors pop a bit more.

Union front version 2. Overall I think they turned out pretty decent. The model is just a little darker than I wanted. So next version will be focused on slightly brightening the colors.
(https://i.imgur.com/amuE75P.jpg)

Union back version 2. Again the switch to a new line of paint colors changed some things. The brown/tans are a different color. Not bad. Just different. And the shade is a bit too strong for my taste. I think this is mostly because I am used to more subtle transitions from shadows to highlights on 28mm models. So this contrast is just much more stark. Perhaps that is better, I am not sure yet. Also, I do not like straight black leather. It requires another step of highlighting. And at this scale, I am much more prone to coloring outside the lines.
(https://i.imgur.com/mtGVA1t.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 27, 2022, 01:21:38 PM
Again these look great too

There’s a lot of detail for the size of the scale
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 27, 2022, 01:23:09 PM
They do look very good. They are, I take it, 15mm?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 27, 2022, 01:28:32 PM
Again these look great too

There’s a lot of detail for the size of the scale

There is a lot of detail which is great. However, it is also contributing the my nitpicking. If it’s there, I want to paint it.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 27, 2022, 01:30:55 PM
They do look very good. They are, I take it, 15mm?

They are 13.5mm from foot to eye level so not a true 15mm scale. This one of the major criticisms of the product line. It creates a proprietary market and does not lend itself to gamers using other 15mm figures they may already own or like to purchase.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 27, 2022, 01:41:55 PM
Going back a good few years, I painted up a fair number of 15mm ACW figures, as we were playing a lot using the 'Johnny Reb' rules (among others). I have a full Union Division with an artillery battery, a supply column, a cav regiment and a small unit of riflemen in green. On top of that I did a Confederate Brigade to beef up one of my buddies armies.

I used a mix of figures from a variety of manufacturers, although I think that a large number of them were from 'Old Glory' who are a local company to me.

There was always a bit of variation of scale from the different manufacturers, but when they were mixed up it actually added to the effects as it meant that not all the figures were the same height.

However, I sold the lot years ago to help finance a new PC :-)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on April 27, 2022, 01:58:02 PM
Cough - package to bison - cough
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on April 27, 2022, 08:21:16 PM
I would love to see some photos of your handy work, Bob!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on April 28, 2022, 07:28:34 PM
Those look great Bison! Can't wait to see them based and in action on the table!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on April 29, 2022, 07:13:36 AM
I would love to see some photos of your handy work, Bob!

I think the only stuff I sill have is a Dwarf Bloodbowl team and maybe a few WH40K Imperial Guard. They are in a box in a cupboard somewhere, so I'll see if I can find 'em.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 05, 2022, 10:40:45 AM
I have had to box up a good deal of my plastic, paints, and other crafting supplies. However, I do have some citadel paints and a 40K starter box of built minis for on-the-go crafting. I just painted up the first squad of space marines in the Ultramarine style. So much blue! I need to prime up a couple of outriders (space marines on motorcycles) and some Necrons before I pack up the airbrush.

Side note: My boys and I have been playing out 40K battles using unpainted minis. The experience made me realize that basic paint jobs are sufficient for the table. I often forget this as I tend to get overly obsessive about painting details which slows down the process and use up my limited painting table time. Playing the game with non-grey models is the desired outcome of painting the miniatures and I am pretty dang sure after the first look very few people care about the details.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on May 06, 2022, 03:24:05 AM
I am pretty dang sure after the first look very few people care about the details.

i am fairly certain you are correct as well.  Glad you guys have been having fun with 40k.  :bigthumb: 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 06, 2022, 09:14:09 PM
Well, we play with miniatures that come from the 40K and refer to them as Space Marines and Necrons all true. However, our games are essentially the tabletop wargame version of Calvinball. For example tonight one of the terrain pieces (made using magnatiles) became a bus at some point during the game. You could drive it 6 inches a turn but the driver could not shoot only the models on top of the bus could shoot. Then a forest suddenly grew in the middle of the table. The trees were stacks of dice. Anyway, it is good fun and they can read the data cards now to find stats.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on May 07, 2022, 06:16:13 PM
However, our games are essentially the tabletop wargame version of Calvinball.

This is priceless.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 07, 2022, 07:10:31 PM
However, our games are essentially the tabletop wargame version of Calvinball.

This is priceless.

Absolutely. Below is the data card one of them did for the "bus" so we are sure to know what it does next time.

(https://i.imgur.com/SUCjswB.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 07, 2022, 08:07:19 PM
Love stuff like this - you’re blessed
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on May 08, 2022, 01:32:20 PM
Ha ha ha! Nicely done!!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 10, 2022, 05:50:30 PM
I had to put the ACW project on hold for a little while as we get ready to move. So I have been spending some time putting paint on some Warhammer 40K miniatures. I am pretty happy with the outcome. I am still learning how to do the panel and edge highlighting style that Games Workshop advocates

The Space Marines are done in the typical Ultramarine style. The Necrons are painted in whatever faction it is that is depicted on the latest box sets for 9e WH 40K. The new citadel paint colors released for the Necron are pretty awesome. I actually air-brushed a dirty gold color on the minis over a black primer before using runelord brass and leadblecher to base color the metal. Tesseract Glow techincal paint is a very bright green to do the glow effects. Anyway, I have a few more marines and Necron warriors to paint before I tackle the outriders and leader models which are much more detailed. I even painted eyes on the Ultramarine Sergeant. I have gone and lost my mind! Still finishing the basing but it'll get done...eventually.

(https://i.imgur.com/f535bpC.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vSTaQE5.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GsMuCWU.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 10, 2022, 05:54:37 PM
Looks great - the finish on the Necrons is awesome!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 10, 2022, 07:50:32 PM
Citadel made a new shade called Cryptek Armourshade Gloss as I understand it specifically for the Indominous Necron release. It is a very dark brass color. I initially underestimated just how strongly pigmented this paint is out of the pot. I had to thin it out quite a bit to not completely overpower the metallic colors on the miniature. It provides a great grimy dark brass color shading.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on May 10, 2022, 08:40:23 PM
Not my game but those look great!! Those colors really look great
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 10, 2022, 09:02:25 PM
I did not think it was a game for me either but my boys and I have had a lot of fun the past few weeks. They ask to play 40K daily. Truth is I actually have really enjoyed building and painting the models. And the game is actually really fun. Some days rolling a fist full of dice is just right.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: judgedredd on May 11, 2022, 01:57:28 AM
Outstanding  :notworthy:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 11, 2022, 06:21:59 AM
A few channels I watch say ultramarine blue is the worst contrast paint but those look awesome to me

I’m more jealous of sitting down with the kids and playing 40k lite - good for you 🥰
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 11, 2022, 07:39:37 AM
A few channels I watch say ultramarine blue is the worst contrast paint but those look awesome to me

Well, the base of the ultramarine is actually Citadel Air paint and an old-fashioned pot of Macragge Blue. I did follow the suggestion from a how-to paint video and used Basilicanum Grey as a shade on the silver areas and to line the space marine armor. I wanted Levathon Blue to do the lining but every game store in my area was out of it. It actually works well as a shade and is much easier to control.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 13, 2022, 08:49:56 PM
The 40K armies underwent a significant surprise feline attack today. I need to conduct emergency operations to fix a weapon and a couple of smaller parts broken during the attack. Nurse I need paper clips, super glue, and excess sprue stat!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 13, 2022, 08:56:46 PM
Never had the cat attack issue but I sympathise - there’s nothing worse than finding your carefully crafted men in little bits
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 14, 2022, 06:04:37 AM
Its the same with map and counters......




It also proves beyond doubt that the world is round. If it was flat, then cats would have pushed everything off the edges by now.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 14, 2022, 07:21:50 AM
Heh - you’re move old man

Touch me, I dare you
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 14, 2022, 07:33:43 AM
I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and remembered I had something more important to do. A dental appointment, I think it was.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2022, 10:36:20 AM
Cats are jerks. They hold some unwarranted worldview that they are in charge of everything.

I was able to pin the weapon back in place. I needed to take a break after supergluing my fingers together multiple times...

Now I just need to figure out how I am going to fix some tiny shoulder armor pieces. I think if I cut down paper clips and then use superglue to create a point to fix the side of the piece it may work. The pieces are too small to use a little hand drill to fix. Otherwise, the Necron bosses will lose some super sweet bling.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 14, 2022, 02:56:05 PM
https://www.northumbriantinsoldier.com/product-category/paint/dirty-down-effect-paints/?fbclid=IwAR2rWg3OmT6jGd5wokZ-zkImw3HuHrzbrzs1IjXck5Jx8KY00PEa7riCBYg

This stuff looks good. I have seen some examples of it and it really give an amazing effect.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2022, 05:34:07 PM
At some point, I need to do some rust or verdigris effects on some Warcry terrain. I will have to look into these products but they are not something I have seen in the US.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on May 14, 2022, 05:58:16 PM
I use the AK Interactive effects stuff.  It works great.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 15, 2022, 02:33:41 AM
I find GW corrosion paint dry brushed with ryza rust works well if you don’t want to get too technical
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 22, 2022, 11:01:31 PM
I enjoy and prefer to make my own terrain. However, I just do not have time to craft up some much-needed terrain for our ongoing Ultramarine and Necron war. So I picked up a couple of cheap sets of GW ruins terrains. Not trying to sound like a total fanboy but the cost was worth the time savings and it looks great. I assembled something like 9 or 10 pieces in a couple of hours. Now at some point, I just need to put the airbrush to it for a good prime and paint job. I have been experimenting with using cheap craft acrylics with the airbrush and it works well. So I plan to do the majority of the paint that way and just do a few bits and bobs with a brush to bring out some of the details. I need to pick up a pot of black or dark brown ink to make some cheap bulk wash.

I do have some MDF cut and a sheet of 1" and 2" foam to put together some hills and cliffs. I have also picked out some of my seashells to do a couple of rocky rough terrain pieces.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 07, 2022, 09:10:15 PM
I miss my crafting table so very much. It’s my zen spot.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2022, 12:02:37 AM
I am away from the workbench for a couple of months and damned ol' GW goes and messes with a hobby stable...the washes...and reformulates them and reduces the bottle size. I am going to spend the last few weeks away from the table hitting hobby shops and stocking up on the old washes. New mission: Accepted.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 18, 2022, 03:10:00 AM
New contrast and new washes look great
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2022, 08:39:29 AM
New contrast and new washes look great

Git off my lawn, youse!  ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 18, 2022, 09:39:03 AM
I am going to spend the last few weeks away from the table hitting hobby shops and stocking up on the old washes.

If GA has any, and you want to place the order and just have me pick them up and hold them for you, I can.  Saves you on shipping if you're going to be using them for a few more weeks/months.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2022, 02:51:00 PM
I am going to spend the last few weeks away from the table hitting hobby shops and stocking up on the old washes.

If GA has any, and you want to place the order and just have me pick them up and hold them for you, I can.  Saves you on shipping if you're going to be using them for a few more weeks/months.

I did not see paints listed on their website.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 18, 2022, 02:54:35 PM
I did not see paints listed on their website.

huh, OK.  Maybe they just don't ship paints.  They have a whole wall of them.  I'll see if I can't get a picture to send over to you.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 19, 2022, 01:02:55 PM
Ok. I will probably try and stop by there early next week too.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 16, 2022, 06:55:51 PM
The painting corner in the closet is finally becoming a space suitable to resume painting. I have found a good number of the boxes packed with crafting supplies. However, I still need to locate the one that has the ACW and HYW miniatures and the Vallejo Model Color paints. The airbrush will also need to be addressed but I think there is a corner in the garage I can setup a paint station. Moving is a pain in the backside…I have my Citadel paints and some D&D miniatures on the desk to get back into painting while the search for the other models goes on.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 17, 2022, 12:26:57 AM
The painting table was set up this afternoon and put to use this evening. The table is not fully extended this go around but it still is ample space to paint and build models.

I picked up a new wet pallet to replace my old and...uh...slightly moldy one. This time I decided to give the Army Painter wet pallet a go. I need to do some more testing to get used to it. I found it drying out very quickly compared to my old one.  The sponge is thinner which I think is contributing. I do like its size and the brush storage could be handy. I also finally scored a directional dice at a hobby shop. :)

(https://i.imgur.com/aDgfq6H.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 17, 2022, 12:34:55 AM
I did find the lost box that the epic scale ACW and Perry HYW miniatures were packed into a few months ago. But before I go headlong back into the ACW project and finish up some WH40K stuff. I needed to just put paint on a miniature. Oh, boy am I rusty. I gave myself a 2-hour limit to complete the paint job. I selected a human cleric from the WIZKID D&D lineup. I used exclusively Citadel paints. Anyway. His paint job is done and all that remains is a quick basing job which I will do tomorrow. If I had spent more time thinking about it. I most likely would have made a few different color choices. I did very little in the way of highlighting the model. Mostly because my Citadel triads are limited and I was too lazy to go through the rest of the paints in boxes. He will be a perfectly serviceable miniature on game night.

(https://i.imgur.com/ExuqjQR.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 17, 2022, 07:52:19 AM
Nice!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on August 17, 2022, 01:07:25 PM
+1  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on August 17, 2022, 08:22:51 PM
A clean and tidy painting station, the calm before the storm.  :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 17, 2022, 11:35:31 PM
A clean and tidy painting station, the calm before the storm.  :)

Indeed the mess will eventually happen!

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 17, 2022, 11:46:33 PM
Knocked out a paladin or fighter tonight. I really, really like this sculpt. There were some areas I probably should have taken the time to clean up but the pre-priming on a Wizkid mini makes it a hassle. I was also in a mood after having located all of my ongoing projects except the ones I wanted to find. For the life of me, I cannot remember how or where I packed my English foot knights and archers. I wanted to work on that project some more since I have the new Lion's Rampant rules. Anyway, back to tonight's project.

White is a pain to paint and I find Citadel's whites to be very chalky. I did try mixing a few batches with some different mediums but it only marginally helped. I went with a very, very watered-down blue wash for the shadows. It worked out ok but the cool tone drove the color selection for the cape. And after I called it tabletop ready, I found the apothecary grey contrast paint I had picked up to specifically test on shading whites and light greys. But such is life.

(https://i.imgur.com/14INwfC.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 22, 2022, 12:57:20 AM
Painted a couple of stands of ACW over the last couple of days. I am trying some different blues from the Model Color line. I like Dark Prussian Blue but after the wash and from a distance I think the models are too dark. 13 mm is small. Like really, really, really freaking small. So I have a couple of lines painted with Model Color blue. It's a lighter color but seems to be working well. I have also trimmed the slouch hats to kepi caps. Minor pain in the ass but I think it looks better for the union. I will post some comparison photos once I finish the third test infantry. I have also been bringing the Army Painter Strong Tone down a few shades to help reduce darkening on the models. I do not love the Army Painter products but they seem to work well enough.

And because I am an idiot who does not have a big enough pile to work on. I have some early medieval/crusader period knights and footmen to work on too. I want to do a Saracen army next. But for right now it'll just be a couple of medieval armies on the project list for Lion's Rampant.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 22, 2022, 07:30:38 AM
And all of that before you've even made it over to Hangar 18 hobbies to pick up a bunch of minis from those guys ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 22, 2022, 08:41:42 PM
And all of that before you've even made it over to Hangar 18 hobbies to pick up a bunch of minis from those guys ;D

I know and am looking forward to going. I called the store this past weekend to inquire whether they carried Victrix, Gripping Beast, or Fireforge miniatures. However, the person who answered the phone had no idea what I was talking about but he did know Warlord and let me know they had some in stock.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 26, 2022, 09:14:48 PM
Somehow I managed to get super glue on my new sable hair brush tip when I was assembling medieval cavalry figures. The brush was on the opposite side of the table too. Anyway, I was not at all happy with myself after I discovered it.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 27, 2022, 02:17:09 AM
It’s like a rite of passage - that and throwing nuln oil everywhere
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 28, 2022, 02:27:34 PM
It’s like a rite of passage - that and throwing nuln oil everywhere

The other rite of passage I have found myself in is buying miniatures without a plan.

So there I was last night assembling horses and riders…realizing that I thought I was building for Lion’s Rampant but want to use the miniatures for other systems. What system? Warhammer Ancient Battles (WAB)  or Hail Caesar (HC)…then the shiny object of  rules comes crashing in like a comet exploding into the ground…in the aftermath  I sat there realizing I had no plan other than “KNIGHTS”…

Simple fix. Look at the rules I have and review the army lists…WAB…huh Normans and Crusaders…HC feudal France, Germany, Poland, Plantagenet, Crusaders…spend time looking at the kits on my desk…go back to army list…back to kits and the built models and realize I really should have thought this out…so now the basing is an issue and the historical armies are unknown…all those dudes with swords and maces and axes…probably should have just been crossbows and spears….lord knows I need to reevaluate my situation but I think I am just going with the original plan…generic knights doing knight things individually based for Lions Rampant.

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on August 28, 2022, 10:44:51 PM
I need to make a list of projects and prioritize them. (Of note, I did inform my wife she would have to deal with a massive amount of plastic and metal miniatures in the future. She simply remarked well if you life another 30 or more years, I will have armies from around the world and across history to deal with and unload. I think that is a positive remark...maybe.) Project creep and sidebars are a real thing.

On topic, the current projects are in various states in no particular order of priority:

1. ACW Epic Scale. I have 2 regiments of Union done and have primed another 4 to 5 regiments. I need to reprime with black and zenithal. It will make working with these little buggers much easier not having to address every recessed speck of white showing. Then I need to work on some artillery and start the same formations for the Rebs. I have cavalry and leaders (Grant, Lee, Jackson, and some other union guy but I do not remember who) to work on too. They are metal sculpts so I need to pick up a good set of files first. Also, I need to build the MDF build terrain I have and some N Scale woods. I also want to find a couple of suitable bridges. It's pretty surprising how many times the two sides fight on, near, or over a bridged river crossing.

2. Warhammer 40K. Hmm...a squad of Space Marines and Necrons left to paint. There is also a Rhino and some Necron thing I do not remember the name. The Aeldari...build, prime, and paint. This is my boy's priority. They loved playing 40K and really want to play 3-player battles.

3. Knights. I have 6 of 36 cavalry models built. Another 140+ foot, crossbow men, and archers to build. Nothing has been primed or painted. This is my current obsession. The multi-pose weapons and arms are a 3D jigsaw puzzle to put together. It's a good side project for something other than painting at the table. These models will be for Lion's Rampant. I do not want to build out 2 full armies for a mass battle game although I guess I am pretty close to having enough for small WAB battles.

4. 100 Years War. I cannot find my English foot or archers I built. This is on the back burner until I find or hopefully not find myself replacing them. I want to build this out for WAB or HC.

5. Gaming table. I have a rough draft made for a table. Need to clean the garage to make space. I do not want to clean the garage because that means I have to deal with boxes and unpacking, repacking, and all that. Maybe if I just push them all against the wall in a corner the wife will not notice. Mental note: Work on deception plan of having completed Honey To Due List #3421.

6. Gaming terrain. I have a bunch of 40K jazz than needs a quick prime and paint job with the airbrush. I am not going all in on the details. I do need to make some more forests and build a river and several hills. I did locate my foam and most of the crafting kit. This is doable. I can make terrain.

7. Long-term goals: Republican Roman, Carthaginian, and Gaul Armies. Read Sharpe's Practice and build out OOB for French and English or English and Americans. Ok first, I need to decide Nappy's wars or America's Independence.

8. On-going D&D miniatures. I need to go through the box and sort it. I have some dungeon terrain I want to paint and need an inventory of monsters. We are good on PC figures. Of course, I did use glass beads and coins today for the monsters so no rush. These are the I do not feel like dealing with the above projects but want something to paint or work on need techiques miniatures. No rush.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 05, 2022, 02:34:01 AM
The mounted sergeants and knights are coming along. So far, I have built 48 of them and have 12 mounted knights to build. But I might build some foot sergeants and knights first.

These are Fireforge sculptures and for the most part, I really like them. They are pretty chunky and easy to work with in comparison to the more detailed and finer models from Perry. I will say the multi-pose and piece arms take some getting used to. The crossbowmen were, frankly, a pain in the ass. The crossbow arm and the free arm have a certain configuration that goes together which I didn't figure out until halfway through when I was struggling to pose the last couple. They still look nice but without any sort of assembly guide, it becomes a bit of a puzzle.

And you can see the ongoing ACW project in process in the background.   :dreamer:

6 Heavy men-at-arms with mixed weapons.
(https://i.imgur.com/1DnPtSS.jpg)

6 Mounted crossbowmen.
(https://i.imgur.com/tdHnWJI.jpg)

12 mounted sergeants with lances. One I modeled with a mace and cape for a potential leader and one has a horn. The musician looks cool and if I use the models for WAB well I have the musician covered. :)
(https://i.imgur.com/CvgEFc9.jpg)

I still need to glue the riders to the horse and base them. I am going to individually base on 25x50mm stands. The initial goal is to play Lion's Rampant and I am looking at picking up Baron's War too. It is a campaign skirmish game set in England during the unironically Baron uprising against King John. Eventually, I will most likely add another 6 mounted crossbowmen and 6 heavy men-at-arms.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on September 05, 2022, 09:57:15 AM
Those are some cool looking models but I think they would drive me crazy trying to assemble. I look forward to seeing how you paint them!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: GROGnadsUSA on September 05, 2022, 04:24:26 PM
Hoi y`all as 'moi' did NOT thoroughly read/peruse/scrutinize the entirety of this, while I wanted to 'impart' some from when I "messed around" with those "Battle Master" figurines. So, I wanted to 're:position' them so's NAUGHT A-L-L were exactly similar to any other! The  "Weapons Wielders" would then have these 'rearranged' into differing 'Poses' of that. For the 'Cavalry Troops', they too would become 'rearranged' FROM: 'Lance Upright'-(original position); 'Begins Slight Lowering/Tilted Forward'; 'HALF-Tilt'; 'FULL Tilted/Lowered' into "Thrust"-mode!.

THE better of 'moulding procedures' WERE dipping the 'Part' for "repositioning" into small container of "HOT Water" a moment or '2'  upon its length, and then quickly put into 'place' as manipulated for thus! I might as well begin MY OWN 'pages' about "Hobby Slobbers" *Secrets* and "Magical Moments" over 'moi' 'Decades'! Truthfully Historied
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 05, 2022, 06:40:33 PM
Those are some cool looking models but I think they would drive me crazy trying to assemble. I look forward to seeing how you paint them!

Me too! I think I am just going generic medieval.  I want them to be agnostic as far as nationality as much as possible. Anyway it’s a good reason to figure out the airbrush setup since I have a metric ton of plastic to prime.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 05, 2022, 06:42:54 PM
I wanted to 're:position' them so's NAUGHT A-L-L were exactly similar to any other! The  "Weapons Wielders" would then have these 'rearranged' into differing 'Poses' of that. For the 'Cavalry Troops', they too would become 'rearranged' FROM: 'Lance Upright'-(original position); 'Begins Slight Lowering/Tilted Forward'; 'HALF-Tilt'; 'FULL Tilted/Lowered' into "Thrust"-mode!.

I did a variety of poses with these warriors but some were certainty more amiable to being repostured than others.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 30, 2022, 06:41:42 PM
I had hit a bit of a hobby funk over the past couple of weeks and the work schedule did not help. So to shake myself out of the funk I sat down to build a couple of more pieces of tree scatter terrain. Of course, this was bound to happen, the desk is a disaster of creative laziness.
(https://i.imgur.com/gGKZJIM.jpg)
The boys had won a couple of prizes during the raffle at Southern Front a box of Warlord Airborne Soldiers and a Tiger tank. When they saw me working on some projects, they decided today was the day to build some models. *By saw I mean occupied by force my walk-in closet workspace.* As you can see, the desk is in no shape to assume command of two 7-year-old hobbyists' building desires. Heck, I was having trouble just finding a proper tool or the super glue. So there is only one thing to do in such a situation...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 30, 2022, 06:47:18 PM
Perfect way to get out of it

I myself packed everything up and vowed I was done after painting 60 Zulu warriors for a customer - it was relentless - nothing compared to the guys that paint 200 skaven or 300 goblins but that’s for themselves - when it’s for someone else it was hard going!

Same guy has returned to burrows and badgers and the figures are crafted so beautifully, individual and full of character and there’s 10 per batch - never will paint a hoarde again
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 30, 2022, 06:47:42 PM
Leading my merry band of followers downstairs, we occupied (by force) the dining room table and began to assemble some models. And so we set about building a few soldiers and a tank. I am pretty sure with about 14.56% certainty the wife was not too upset. Sure we may have added a few scrapes and dings to the tabletop cutting plastic and a piece or two of sprue shaving may or may not have been glued to the table as a result of our efforts. But who can really say? I mean surely someone else could have built models at the table too, right?

(https://i.imgur.com/PDd8OER.jpg?1)

(https://i.imgur.com/Z75uGcI.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 30, 2022, 06:53:46 PM
Overall the dudes did great. They both cut and assembled a good 70-80% of the models. I did do the smaller bits and helped align the arms on the machine gun team.

I really do owe a debt of gratitude to the organizers of Southern Front for the prizes and the boys winning some models. They turned out to be a great prize and opportunity to get these young gamers excited to build and play. Now I need to break out the airbrush to prime and paint.

Infantry units and a machine gun team.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ti699vC.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/NzkvQaN.jpg?1)

The Tiger which my son has been so excited to build. He loves tanks.
(https://i.imgur.com/tliqexj.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/6t02DzP.jpg?1)

It was a great day to be a dad for sure.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 30, 2022, 06:57:38 PM
Perfect way to get out of it

I myself packed everything up and vowed I was done after painting 60 Zulu warriors for a customer - it was relentless - nothing compared to the guys that paint 200 skaven or 300 goblins but that’s for themselves - when it’s for someone else it was hard going!

Same guy has returned to burrows and badgers and the figures are crafted so beautifully, individual and full of character and there’s 10 per batch - never will paint a hoarde again

Horde building and painting is tedious for sure. Ironically, you can see a group of 10 Zulus behind the Tiger in one of the photos. It was another prize the boys won at the convention.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on September 30, 2022, 07:42:36 PM
You're going to bring them back for the next TSS game day, right?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 30, 2022, 07:59:04 PM
You're going to bring them back for the next TSS game day, right?

I would love too. Need to shoot you a message later to get the dates and times to see if I can make it work out.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on September 30, 2022, 09:04:08 PM
Awesome to get to do that with the kids. They did a great job assembling!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 12:41:28 AM
I painted a couple of models for a Fistful of Lead warband. Rummaging through the box o' plastic I found these Wizkids pirate models. I need to do some more digging in the box to see if I have any more pirates or something with a sea feel. Anyway, it was a good productive hobby day.
(https://i.imgur.com/B5uKY1i.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 12:45:16 AM
Awesome to get to do that with the kids. They did a great job assembling!

Kids are pretty amazing if you give them a chance to do things on their own with a little supervision and help when necessary. And in the end, it's the only way anyone learns is to actually do it.

I am a huge advocate of getting kids into gaming and specifically miniatures wargaming. Maybe they end up not liking it but from my experience, most do like it. They just have to be allowed to touch things and probably break them. It's a piece of plastic not the end of the world if a spear or gun breaks off.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 01, 2022, 04:20:31 AM
That’s a pretty good prize haul

Did you play bolt action already?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 07:31:00 AM
I have played Bolt Action but I don’t own any figures or rulebooks. It’s been a consideration for sure for a future project.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 01, 2022, 08:14:16 AM
Are you using home rules for the figs or just painting and collecting
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 08:48:43 AM
Are you using home rules for the figs or just painting and collecting

Fistful of Lead. It’s a quick, rules light skirmish game with 5-8 figures a side. The base game plays generically across multiple historic eras but has expansions and rule sets for nearly any setting. The core rules are mostly the same across genres and the traits and the like can be mixed between rulebooks as desired.

It’s worth a look especially if you have an eclectic collection or do not want to build and paint huge armies. I have played my medieval figs as I build out my Lions Rampant armies. So it’s a nice way to play as you build. It does have rules for larger unit battles called Big Battles. It’s a lot of fun. It’s available on wargame vault or print. I have a number of rules in pdf but it drives me crazy. So we play the base, fantasy, and wasteland warriors rules now. I plan on getting the sci-fi and horse and musket rules eventually.

https://wiley-games.myshopify.com/

Paper rules available in the UK here: https://oshiromodels.wixsite.com/oshiromodelswebshop/rules





Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 01, 2022, 11:13:00 AM
Awesome to get to do that with the kids. They did a great job assembling!

Kids are pretty amazing if you give them a chance to do things on their own with a little supervision and help when necessary. And in the end, it's the only way anyone learns is to actually do it.

I am a huge advocate of getting kids into gaming and specifically miniatures wargaming. Maybe they end up not liking it but from my experience, most do like it. They just have to be allowed to touch things and probably break them. It's a piece of plastic not the end of the world if a spear or gun breaks off.

Thats some good advice I needed to hear. My son out of no where the other day mentioned painted miniatures I have out on display and he wants to do that. Now I need to dust off my hobby stuff and find some figs for him and me to learn on but most of all give up control over it going perfectly  :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 11:37:42 AM
Thats some good advice I needed to hear. My son out of no where the other day mentioned painted miniatures I have out on display and he wants to do that. Now I need to dust off my hobby stuff and find some figs for him and me to learn on but most of all give up control over it going perfectly  :)

Indeed, brother. Just let him paint and try to remember the most important part you already know. His vision of awesome will definitely be different than yours. Let go and let the paint flow! Find some cheap minis or even just the green army-like guys and let him paint them if needed. It'll pay off in the end with a gaming partner for life. Also, I am serious check out Fistful of Lead core rules to play lightly structured games. Trust me he'll pick it up fast will a little bit of help. Check out my AAR I will post later on today. You can even do it with whatever you have painted now and some random objects around the house for terrain pieces.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on October 01, 2022, 02:14:14 PM
My wife is an early childhood education consultant. She found this post and I thought it was appropriate for the thread. It is the process and the relationships that are important, not the end result. Let your kids have FUN for God's sake.

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 01, 2022, 05:12:07 PM
And if Dwayne ends up sitting in a mud puddle with gum in his hair and eating a jar of paste....well that's a memory that'll last forever. 
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 01, 2022, 05:47:25 PM
Are you using home rules for the figs or just painting and collecting

Fistful of Lead. It’s a quick, rules light skirmish game with 5-8 figures a side. The base game plays generically across multiple historic eras but has expansions and rule sets for nearly any setting. The core rules are mostly the same across genres and the traits and the like can be mixed between rulebooks as desired.

It’s worth a look especially if you have an eclectic collection or do not want to build and paint huge armies. I have played my medieval figs as I build out my Lions Rampant armies. So it’s a nice way to play as you build. It does have rules for larger unit battles called Big Battles. It’s a lot of fun. It’s available on wargame vault or print. I have a number of rules in pdf but it drives me crazy. So we play the base, fantasy, and wasteland warriors rules now. I plan on getting the sci-fi and horse and musket rules eventually.

https://wiley-games.myshopify.com/

Paper rules available in the UK here: https://oshiromodels.wixsite.com/oshiromodelswebshop/rules

Thanks to you got the PDF core rules and the boy and I are figuring out warbands from the few miniatures I have. Now we are trying to figure out a good way to generate a random scenario to test the rules and our warbands out.  8)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 01, 2022, 06:28:10 PM
Are you using home rules for the figs or just painting and collecting

Fistful of Lead. It’s a quick, rules light skirmish game with 5-8 figures a side. The base game plays generically across multiple historic eras but has expansions and rule sets for nearly any setting. The core rules are mostly the same across genres and the traits and the like can be mixed between rulebooks as desired.

It’s worth a look especially if you have an eclectic collection or do not want to build and paint huge armies. I have played my medieval figs as I build out my Lions Rampant armies. So it’s a nice way to play as you build. It does have rules for larger unit battles called Big Battles. It’s a lot of fun. It’s available on wargame vault or print. I have a number of rules in pdf but it drives me crazy. So we play the base, fantasy, and wasteland warriors rules now. I plan on getting the sci-fi and horse and musket rules eventually.

https://wiley-games.myshopify.com/

Paper rules available in the UK here: https://oshiromodels.wixsite.com/oshiromodelswebshop/rules

Thanks to you got the PDF core rules and the boy and I are figuring out warbands from the few miniatures I have. Now we are trying to figure out a good way to generate a random scenario to test the rules and our warbands out.  8)

this is brilliant - post the aar soon!!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 01, 2022, 07:10:52 PM

Thanks to you got the PDF core rules and the boy and I are figuring out warbands from the few miniatures I have. Now we are trying to figure out a good way to generate a random scenario to test the rules and our warbands out.  8)

That’s awesome. A couple of pieces of advice:
1. It’ll turn into some sort of Calvin Ball the first many times you play. It’s ok. Just roll with it. Try to keep the basic structure in place. Use cards to do turns and dice rolls to hit, armor, and wound.

2. Do not get fixed on a scenario at first. Meet in the middle and duke it out. Add a piece or two of terrain slowly to make sure he understands it’s rules.

3. Sometimes he needs to win but not always. Losing is the hardest thing for some kids to come to terms with but over time it works itself out.

4. Have fun and enjoy the process. He will learn the rules and start to correct your errors soon enough.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 01, 2022, 10:33:02 PM

Thanks to you got the PDF core rules and the boy and I are figuring out warbands from the few miniatures I have. Now we are trying to figure out a good way to generate a random scenario to test the rules and our warbands out.  8)

That’s awesome. A couple of pieces of advice:
1. It’ll turn into some sort of Calvin Ball the first many times you play. It’s ok. Just roll with it. Try to keep the basic structure in place. Use cards to do turns and dice rolls to hit, armor, and wound.

2. Do not get fixed on a scenario at first. Meet in the middle and duke it out. Add a piece or two of terrain slowly to make sure he understands it’s rules.

3. Sometimes he needs to win but not always. Losing is the hardest thing for some kids to come to terms with but over time it works itself out.

4. Have fun and enjoy the process. He will learn the rules and start to correct your errors soon enough.

Good stuff. Calvin Ball such a good analogy for trying to do stuff with kids  :2funny:

Are you using home rules for the figs or just painting and collecting

Fistful of Lead. It’s a quick, rules light skirmish game with 5-8 figures a side. The base game plays generically across multiple historic eras but has expansions and rule sets for nearly any setting. The core rules are mostly the same across genres and the traits and the like can be mixed between rulebooks as desired.

It’s worth a look especially if you have an eclectic collection or do not want to build and paint huge armies. I have played my medieval figs as I build out my Lions Rampant armies. So it’s a nice way to play as you build. It does have rules for larger unit battles called Big Battles. It’s a lot of fun. It’s available on wargame vault or print. I have a number of rules in pdf but it drives me crazy. So we play the base, fantasy, and wasteland warriors rules now. I plan on getting the sci-fi and horse and musket rules eventually.

https://wiley-games.myshopify.com/

Paper rules available in the UK here: https://oshiromodels.wixsite.com/oshiromodelswebshop/rules

Thanks to you got the PDF core rules and the boy and I are figuring out warbands from the few miniatures I have. Now we are trying to figure out a good way to generate a random scenario to test the rules and our warbands out.  8)

this is brilliant - post the aar soon!!

Started a new thread in the AAR section!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 02, 2022, 09:02:25 PM
Pulling some more plastic out of the to-do box in the garage, I selected a couple of iconic planes AD&D monsters. They will serve dual duty as monsters in a future RPG session and as some sort of mutant in FoL games.

The Displacer Beast is one of my all-time favorite monsters. Its basing is not yet complete a couple of little rocks and some grass just to break up the expanse of dirt a little bit is in order.
(https://i.imgur.com/EyZr0As.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/M5WMLMd.jpg)

The Xorn. Seriously, one of the craziest monsters in the game. They come from the earth plane and eat through rock to find minerals to sustain themselves. And like the Displacer Beast, they basely phase in and out of the material plane. Terrifying. A little glossy varnish needs to be applied to their eyes and gaping mouths for a little added effect.
(https://i.imgur.com/EzjW2Iz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/pvduTYL.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 03, 2022, 09:28:52 PM
Got on a bit of a night owl roll last night and worked a couple of more monster minis.

The Troll is the typical iconic AD&D variant. I honestly prefer the D&D take on the troll to the larger more giant-like trolls seen in the Tolkien movies. I think if I decide to paint another one I will look at some color changes. Black hair and a lighter green-grey or brown-green something or other. I should try and make its teeth more rotten and diseased looking. Perhaps trolls have good dental hygyene? Anyway, the sculpt is pretty good sized as you can see in the comparison with a normal-sized human fighter. Truly a terrifying monster. I do find it funny the troll took the time to find some leather and rope to so politely cover up his troll bits.
(https://i.imgur.com/3zpOkDQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/PNFxMRl.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 03, 2022, 09:35:50 PM
A couple of bugbears for good measure. The wizard or shaman lady was my technique project. No shades were used on her clothing. Strictly used glazes to try and create less stark shadowing on the colors and create a more subtle dark to highlight. I think I could have gone a tone lighter for the highlighting but my orange paint colors available are pretty limited. The fighter is painted in my typical tabletop standards. I have really been working to increase my color selections. I was really using a lot of brown and green color templates for my fantasy figures. So used the art photo on the package for the mage to go bold with orange and red. The warrior was jazzed with some gold, grey, and blues still muted colors on him but more contrasting than some of my other bugbears. And I am not sure if its very noticeable but I also painted his eyes.
(https://i.imgur.com/aEb0oSy.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/EHzUrAj.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on October 03, 2022, 10:19:30 PM
Those two really came out good. Love the color in them.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on October 03, 2022, 11:21:58 PM
I like the way the cloth colors turned out. It reminded me how much more effective glazing is for creating subtle and more natural transitions.

Now this abomination on the other hand...oy... needs some fixing up. I think just changing the color of the pants to a lighter and more neutral color will work to make him slightly less garish. I had "help" picking out the colors. Somedays, some models are just a challenge and I should have stopped while I was ahead. I planned to after finishing the wings and head but did not so live and learn.

He is a space pterodactyl. I'll readdress him tomorrow. Although, I suspect the kids will like his bright colors. The image is not the best but the armor is a rose-color light gold which actually looks decent in person. It's the pants. Hell, I do not even know if he is wearing pants. The model is a Reaper Bones Black. Reaper is good for the budget and experimenting but its details are not always very clear. In this case, it's a space dinosaur with lots of gear and natural body parts that the mold lines just blend together. Whether I deal anymore with him or not, it does not really matter. He will still get played during our tabletop battles. We need more weird mutant, alien creatures to diversify our warbands.
(https://i.imgur.com/AEiKII3.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 19, 2022, 12:47:20 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/vWo5wME.jpg)
...It has been significantly longer than I expected since I last archived a hobby update. Needless to say, the hobby productivity has been a bit slow.

I have managed to paint up a few random figures to use in a game of something or other at some point.

A Reaper Black edition figure. Pain. In. The. Ass. First of all when Reaper says a miniature is ready to paint, i.e. primed and ready to be painted, they lie. This alien guy was in no way primed. But because I like to experiment, I painted him...er...it...anyway without priming which without question was a mistake. Read this proclamation: Rule 345za2 - A primed figure always allows paints to be applied easier. Prime your figures. Anyhow, after much swearing and bouts of temporary insanity. I got the paint to stick. On a worthwhile note, I love Vallejo's metallic medium. It can create some great effects without having to invest in a lot of metallic paint colors. It does not show through very well in this image but in person, the alien has a shimmering robe.
(https://i.imgur.com/vgHpaNI.jpg)

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 19, 2022, 12:49:13 PM
A couple of creatures I painted mostly to use in Fistfuls of Lead but will probably come in handy for some RPG session at some point.

Sabertooth Tiger. I hate painting fur. It is a hassle. I mean look at some photos of real animals. Ok. Not a sabertooth. They are extinct and no photos exist. CGI and artist renditions aside. But look at some living animals or if you have an animal phobia...a photo will suffice. It's best if you happen to be the servant to a cat lord...ask your Lord or Lordette's permission of course...but examine the fur colors. Fur hairs are not homogeneous in color. Anyway. I think this feline turned out decent.
(https://i.imgur.com/HRkk6vK.jpg)

One of the greatest movies of my childhood is Clash of the Titans. I have a soft spot in my heart for old pulp cinema and love claymation. So when I saw this gent just hanging on the rack at the shop, I knew immediately I was going to adopt him. Scorpions make horrible pets. Seriously. Do not buy a scorpion as a pet. However, as a terror on the battlefield, they are great. I need to find another one or two. Scorpions need a social group of like-minded fellows to properly terrorize would-be adventures. I was going to go with an iconic black scorpion but it looked boring. So I spruced him up with some reds and browns. I love him.
(https://i.imgur.com/3lnfYVP.jpg)

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 19, 2022, 12:51:56 PM
He's back!  :party:

Good stuff as usual.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 19, 2022, 01:00:16 PM
Now for a moment of fatherly pride. As you will recall, my boys won some plastic kits at a convention a few months back. We took to building some of the kits and then we painted them.

A German Tiger painted more or less in a late-war camo color scheme.  Firstly, I airbrushed the base color. The boy helped to airbrush the stripes and handpainted painted the tracks. I think we did pretty good for a father-and-son joint effort. We still need to address some of the details but not too shabby for our first tank.

(https://i.imgur.com/53Cbs2Y.jpg)

I primed the other son's US infantry but he did all of the painting himself. Historically accurate? I have no idea. I do not care. He does not care. The look of pride on his face was awesome and he immediately showed them off to mom, sisters, me, mom, his brother, me, mom, his sisters, the dog, one of the cats, me, his mom...

(https://i.imgur.com/PiGD20C.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2eRqFKG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ChNdDh9.jpg)

He wants to build and paint a few more to use as his gang in Fistful of Lead. I stand by my belief. Kids can do some amazing things if given the chance and guidance.


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on November 19, 2022, 01:22:17 PM
 :bigthumb:

Well done all around!!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on November 19, 2022, 01:26:19 PM
those are very cool.  You should definitely share those with the TSS guys, too!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 19, 2022, 07:23:05 PM
Excellent work all around, by the kids and the dad!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 27, 2022, 05:18:35 PM
The ACW project is back on track. There are almost sufficient blue coats painted to start playing small battles.

Three infantry regiments are nearly complete. The third regiment just needs its command base which is on the paint table cue. The stands all still need a matt varnish and basing.

(https://i.imgur.com/R14P6dH.jpg)

I have the last command base and one more regiment ready to paint. These strips are a bit of a pain to get good coverage. These guys are tiny with a ton of details which causes a bunch of little nooks and crannies . My OCD while painting makes any white specks really stand out. A lot of people are probably going the contrast or quick paint route but you really have to have brush control to make it work. The contrast paint benefit is it just flows into the little spaces and deals with the specks. I do not have the brush control. Also, the original priming job was pretty half-assed. Anyway, I would initially like to be able to field four to five regiments and an artillery battery.

(https://i.imgur.com/rE5XrMr.jpg)

For the first batch, I primed on the sprue. A mistake I will not make again. Now I am hand brushing the worst offending areas. Anyway, the switch away from the generally horrible Army Painter line to my beloved Vallejo line is working very well. I basically have said &$@! trying to avoid covering details with the base blue coverage on the coats. For the most part, it has not been a problem that a couple of thin coats on the details cover the blue and reach a tabletop good enough standard.

I have put together a couple of artillery and command stands for the cue. They will definitely need some hand-brushed primer before painting. I thought about putting the leaders on round bases but I just decided to use what Warlord provided for the brigade commanders. I have some metal miniatures of generals like Lee, Jackson, and Meade. I will base them as Army commanders on round bases. There are some special rules in the Glory Hallelujah supplement which apply to named commanders. Also, I have way more commanders than I will need so sacrificing a couple to use on square bases for the sake of playing is no big deal. The artillery is a surprising hassle. The pegs do not quite fit nicely in the pre-drilled holes on the bases. I had to hand drill out one and put in a peg after I broke off the molded plastic one trying to get it to fit the stand. That particular cannon is a bit awkward looking on the base but today I do not care. Craft late at night and stuff will happen.

(https://i.imgur.com/kZU9AaM.jpg)

I will start on a similar-sized Rebel force next. I grow tired of the color blue.

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on November 27, 2022, 08:01:29 PM
I grow tired of the color blue.

Spoken like a true Carolina rebel!  ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 27, 2022, 08:29:01 PM
Man those look good. Overall how happy are you with that line of figures so far?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 27, 2022, 08:59:01 PM
Man those look good. Overall how happy are you with that line of figures so far?

I think the sets are of great value. I am not sure but I think you end up with something like 10 regiments of infantry and 3 or 4 artillery batteries per side just in the starter box. Plus some fencing, an MDF farm building, and the core Black Powder rulebook. So three to four brigades for each army depending on how you divided the forces and some terrain pieces. A box of cavalry gets you a regiment per side if you do a little augmenting with the extra leaders from the core box. It's all anyone would really need to play a lifetime ACW unless you wanted to field every unit involved in a particular battle. There are additional sets available like skirmishers, dismounted cavalry, the Iron Brigade, Zouaves, and more. Just to add some flair and zest to the game. Warlord is also getting ready to release new starter sets. They change up the units a bit to include skirmishers and dismounted cavalry I think but you get fewer line regiments unless you buy the deluxe version. The old set is still available for very reasonable prices too.

The Napoleonic sets are the same from what I can tell. Of course, I am not a button counter or of the particular grognard stripe that expects flags and uniforms to match perfectly with historical units. I am more of a big-picture kind of guy. The tactical level is a lot of fun but it's the maneuver and overall feel that matters to me, not the specific details.

Now as to your question. The figures themselves are IMO fantastic but they can be a pain in the backside to paint. There is almost too much detail which IMO could have been simplified and cleaned up to make painting easier. Some people love it but painting a .25 mm wide mustache is not my idea of fun. Now if you go for just a tabletop standard and do not worry about all the detail it's not bad but does take time. So if you want or need a big painting project, it's again a great deal.

I am going to suggest a heresy for miniature wargaming especially if painting everything is going to be overwhelming. The armies of both ACW and Napoleonic come color-coded at least in the starter boxes. So there is absolutely no need whatsoever to paint anything. Sure they look like risk figures but if you are just playing at home or with a buddy. Who cares. The Union is blue. The Confederates are grey. Cut from sprue and glue to a base and you are playing in a few hours. Nappy is the same. British are red, French are blue. Prussians are black. If you just hot glued the figures to the base you could paint as you play over time. The one caveat to this is I am not sure that the extra unit types come color-coded. So there may be some solid color painting that may need to be done to keep your armies somewhat consistent in their solid colors.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 27, 2022, 09:03:55 PM
I grow tired of the color blue.

Spoken like a true Carolina rebel!  ;D

I am slowly being assimilated! Of course, I refuse to deal with chitlins and "greens" are of questionable virtue.  ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on November 28, 2022, 08:31:40 PM
Man those look good. Overall how happy are you with that line of figures so far?

I think the sets are of great value. I am not sure but I think you end up with something like 10 regiments of infantry and 3 or 4 artillery batteries per side just in the starter box. Plus some fencing, an MDF farm building, and the core Black Powder rulebook. So three to four brigades for each army depending on how you divided the forces and some terrain pieces. A box of cavalry gets you a regiment per side if you do a little augmenting with the extra leaders from the core box. It's all anyone would really need to play a lifetime ACW unless you wanted to field every unit involved in a particular battle. There are additional sets available like skirmishers, dismounted cavalry, the Iron Brigade, Zouaves, and more. Just to add some flair and zest to the game. Warlord is also getting ready to release new starter sets. They change up the units a bit to include skirmishers and dismounted cavalry I think but you get fewer line regiments unless you buy the deluxe version. The old set is still available for very reasonable prices too.

The Napoleonic sets are the same from what I can tell. Of course, I am not a button counter or of the particular grognard stripe that expects flags and uniforms to match perfectly with historical units. I am more of a big-picture kind of guy. The tactical level is a lot of fun but it's the maneuver and overall feel that matters to me, not the specific details.

Now as to your question. The figures themselves are IMO fantastic but they can be a pain in the backside to paint. There is almost too much detail which IMO could have been simplified and cleaned up to make painting easier. Some people love it but painting a .25 mm wide mustache is not my idea of fun. Now if you go for just a tabletop standard and do not worry about all the detail it's not bad but does take time. So if you want or need a big painting project, it's again a great deal.

I am going to suggest a heresy for miniature wargaming especially if painting everything is going to be overwhelming. The armies of both ACW and Napoleonic come color-coded at least in the starter boxes. So there is absolutely no need whatsoever to paint anything. Sure they look like risk figures but if you are just playing at home or with a buddy. Who cares. The Union is blue. The Confederates are grey. Cut from sprue and glue to a base and you are playing in a few hours. Nappy is the same. British are red, French are blue. Prussians are black. If you just hot glued the figures to the base you could paint as you play over time. The one caveat to this is I am not sure that the extra unit types come color-coded. So there may be some solid color painting that may need to be done to keep your armies somewhat consistent in their solid colors.

Good information. Thanks for the answer, not that I need more things tempting me to buy more minis I don' t need :)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on November 29, 2022, 12:46:34 AM
Good information. Thanks for the answer, not that I need more things tempting me to buy more minis I don' t need :)

I have a good pile of lead and plastic amassed myself. The cost, variety, and less time to paint 15mm are really drawing me in much more so than similar efforts at 28mm. Which is to say...

The temptations of childhood dreams about ancient warfare and mythology have taken hold. And so while I am working on the ACW stuff, I am planning out four 15mm ancient armies using DBx basing. I already have the base of Republican Romans (Pre-Marius Reforms), Carthaginians, Late Macedonians, and Iberians I initially bought for DBA years ago. However, I am planning the expansion of the armies to play L' Art de Guerre and potentially Invictus, Triumph, and Hail Ceasar. They all use DBx-based systems for units except Hail Ceasar which uses a standardized frontage so DBx-based figures will work. And potentially a few magic users, giants, and trolls to do some fantasy gaming with Hordes of the Things (a DBA-based fantasy game with only 12 stands per side) and Fantastic Battles (which technically is all based on 40mm square bases IIRCC but that's what house rules are for...). I mean throw a medusa, giant, or troll in with some Greek pikes, Roman legionaries, or Celtic hordes and you are off to the races.

Old Glory 15s has a great holiday sale going on until after the New Year so...I really am very thankful my wife indulges me to pursue my hobby.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on December 15, 2022, 08:09:28 PM
So many Litko bases arrived today...I need them to move the Lion's Rampant project forward...need to now order 15mm armies for L' Art de Guerre...and also wait for Christmas to be "surprised" Santa was so freaking thoughtful in answering an old man child's letter...
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2023, 12:15:01 PM
It has been a while since I last updated the crafting table. I have painted quite a bit but work, family, travel, and most importantly laziness have caused the lack of updates.

First up the Warlord Epic ACW project is continuing at a pace that should see two evenly-matched forces in the next month or two.

The Confederates are in many ways a little more challenging to paint simply because the uniforms are not "standardized" like the Union. The mix and match is fun to paint but brown, light brown, off-shades of brown...are a bit of a challenge at such a small scale. These lines need to undergo a quick highlight to offset the darkening of the figures due to the Army Painter wash.

(https://i.imgur.com/ziDfxrl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/2zoRhMV.jpg)


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2023, 12:30:39 PM
The other project occupying my time is armies to play L' Art de la Guerre and similar DBx-style games. Currently painting up the first batch of Carthaginian forces. I have a large order in with Old Glory 15s to fill out the ranks for both Carthage and Republic Romans.

Carthage is an interesting army. Compared to the Romans relatively little is known about it. I guess it's a by-product of having your city wiped off the face of the Earth.

Anyway, I painted up a couple of light horse Numidian and another light spear type. I also painted the elephants. I will say the Army Painter shade really messed with the elephant blankets. Large flat surfaces do not work well with it. If I get the itch I may need to repaint parts of the elephants.

(https://i.imgur.com/nT3wnop.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/XL3KyMc.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/i27WWTH.jpg)

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 14, 2023, 12:38:01 PM
I really like the ACW figures  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2023, 01:52:25 PM
I really like the ACW figures  :bigthumb:

Thanks Bob. I need another 4 regiments of Reb line and then some cannon and leaders. I have some cavalry to paint too but first things first.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Martok on May 14, 2023, 02:23:05 PM
I concur that the ACW soldiers are excellent, Bison.  Seriously well done! 


And despite your self-critique, I really like the Carthaginian War Elephants as well.  :notworthy: 


Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 14, 2023, 03:31:46 PM
Thanks, Martok. I am really enjoying painting 15mm. The figures are a little more forgiving for painting mistakes on the table. The elephants are maybe an inch long and tall. The one thing with 15mm is color contrast is much more important for the figures to pop on the table. The Army Painter shades apply more like a gel than the citadel washes which makes it a pain for clean application.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on May 14, 2023, 10:57:13 PM
Great looking minis as always! I always like the look of ancient armies.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Tolstoi on May 14, 2023, 11:03:18 PM
Bison, the ACW figures look amazing. What am I typing, they all look amazing! Once you get the entire ACW formation complete, please share the finished results with us.  :rockon:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Undercovergeek on May 15, 2023, 03:20:10 AM
Thanks, Martok. I am really enjoying painting 15mm. The figures are a little more forgiving for painting mistakes on the table. The elephants are maybe an inch long and tall. The one thing with 15mm is color contrast is much more important for the figures to pop on the table. The Army Painter shades apply more like a gel than the citadel washes which makes it a pain for clean application.

I think if I was painting for myself I’d go 15mm - they’re lovely minis - I recently saw a game of war master the old GW game and it looked great
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 15, 2023, 06:09:56 AM
Years ago, I did a huge amount of ACW 15mm stuff, its a great scale - lots of detail can be added. I did some 10mm stuff as well but was never very happy with it. Somewhere I have a box full of 10mm Franco-Prussian War figures that never saw a brush :-(
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 15, 2023, 06:26:44 AM
I recently saw a game of war master the old GW game and it looked great

I picked up a copy of warmaster at a game con flea market a few years back. Interesting set of rules. The only downside is it is a 10mm scale on 20x40 mm basing which is not how I am basing my figures.

The plan is to use my DBx-based ancient armies and expand out into a fantasy game eventually adding in orc, elf, or some other suitable fantasy races eventually. Right now I am not overly impressed with the DBx rules I have read. The magic rules in most cases seem very underwhelming but I will need to play a few games first. I will just need to pick up a few hero figures and some giants or some such monsters to add to the armies.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 15, 2023, 06:27:38 AM
Years ago, I did a huge amount of ACW 15mm stuff, its a great scale - lots of detail can be added. I did some 10mm stuff as well but was never very happy with it. Somewhere I have a box full of 10mm Franco-Prussian War figures that never saw a brush :-(

Interesting conflict and not one you see often minis painted up to play out.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bob48 on May 15, 2023, 07:01:49 AM
I got very interested in the whole period of European history from 1854 to 1871. There is much happening that resulted in some significant changes that shaped Europe to how we know it, and, as you say, it does not enjoy a lot of cover in games terms.

So we have the wars with Denmark, the wars of Italian Unification, the Austrian-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 16, 2023, 12:41:51 AM
I learned tonight that pewer can snap. Much to my surprise, I had a horse's tail snap off the model as I was attempting to bend it downward for basing purposes. Well I should have pinned it back on but being not in the mood to deal with it, I simply super glued it back into place. I will probably regret this decision.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: besilarius on May 20, 2023, 11:22:01 AM
Bison, it may be too involved for 15s, but if you want such repairs to last a good long time this may work.
We used to hold the broken piece with a very tiny drop of super glue.  When that set, make a tiny bead of epoxy and roll it over the break.  After that has set, maybe two days, you can file it down to the natural lines of the figure.

And Bob, if you enjoy the wars of the nineteenth century, the age of Moltke, try looking up "The Art of War, Waterloo to Mons" by William McElwee.
It's a really fun read with lots of interesting anecdotes.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on May 23, 2023, 11:05:39 PM
Bison, it may be too involved for 15s, but if you want such repairs to last a good long time this may work.
We used to hold the broken piece with a very tiny drop of super glue.  When that set, make a tiny bead of epoxy and roll it over the break.  After that has set, maybe two days, you can file it down to the natural lines of the figure.

I ended up pinning the tail before I even to got to basing the mini. If this does not hold, I will give your suggestion a shot. It is a good one but of all of the crafting materials I have on hand epoxy is not among the collection.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on June 10, 2023, 04:39:36 PM
I have a couple dozen Gaul and Ancient Spanish painted just need to base. Republican Romans are on the table. However, I have been sidetracked by playing 1e AD&D random dungeon delves and overland hex crawls solo and the oldest daughter. So the latest craft involves hex paper, colored pencils, an ink pen, dice, and the DMG.

This is the starting area map for our anti-hero AD&D adventures. The wilderness areas surrounding Mayhill. It is a large village sitting atop a hill on the banks of the Hald River. Mayhill also serves as a well-situated stopping point for adventures, traders, and other travelers at the crossroads of the Amythest and Durwine roads. Our mega-dungeon with is currently a 9x9 sheets per level dungeon called the Tomb of Xagyg. We have so far ventured as far down as the fifth level of the dungeon thanks to a slide trap. Poor halfling thief was quite alone and afraid for a while. We discovered a treasure map indicating the location of magical items and treasure two days journey northeast of Mount Boji, an active volcano in the Copper Range. My daughter is convinced a dragon lives near Mount Boji. Well...we shall see what the random tables have to say as we explore an as-of-yet uncharted part of the wilderness.

(https://i.imgur.com/Ib7jMSy.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on June 10, 2023, 08:24:19 PM
Awesome stuff as usual!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on June 10, 2023, 09:51:51 PM
Awesome stuff as usual!

Thank you. It's quite a relaxing process and using the DMG random tables is actually quite fun as a solo game as well. It really plays out more like a skirmish wargame than a story-based RPG but I find myself linking the random events and creating a story. I roll up 4-5 characters on a single page with just the key vital stats, gear, and spells and off I go. I think I have four or five dungeons going for the map. One of which you might experience at some point in the future... ;)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Tolstoi on June 10, 2023, 11:17:57 PM
Thank you. It's quite a relaxing process and using the DMG random tables is actually quite fun as a solo game as well. It really plays out more like a skirmish wargame than a story-based RPG but I find myself linking the random events and creating a story. I roll up 4-5 characters on a single page with just the key vital stats, gear, and spells and off I go. I think I have four or five dungeons going for the map. One of which you might experience at some point in the future... ;)

Very cool Bison, very cool! I forgot abut the random generation tables in the DMG and I now remember using them to create dungeons for fun. Looking forward to whatever you have to share with us in the future.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on June 11, 2023, 08:34:53 PM
 :nerd:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 06:57:12 PM
It's been a few weeks since my last hobby update. Progress has been slow but progress is progress.

I have finished my Essex Republican Romans other than shield details and flocking on the cavalry. The foot infantry needs to be based.

Roman cavalry.

First up is my leader stand. In ADLG, leaders can be purchased in a unit or individually. This is a typical DBA leader stand.
(https://i.imgur.com/khhLrNt.jpg)

Roman medium horse.
(https://i.imgur.com/c6Cco23.jpg)

Roman foot. These are the principes. The hastati and triarii are basically the same sculpt. The hastati do not have the chain armor and the triarii have a long spear. 
(https://i.imgur.com/POn9DXW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/tYROd5T.jpg)

For scale purposes, it's easy to forget just how tiny 15mm is really.
(https://i.imgur.com/uvUm0E7.jpg)

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bbmike on July 17, 2023, 09:06:15 PM
 :o
The last shot with the penny!
 :o

Fantastic work!  :applause:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on July 17, 2023, 09:24:52 PM
Great job with those!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 10:01:42 PM
:o
The last shot with the penny!
 :o

Fantastic work!  :applause:

Yeah, somedays I really question my sanity.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 10:02:57 PM
Great job with those!

Thanks.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 10:09:19 PM
I just realized the penny is 40 years old. I feel so old now realizing I was rocking the same AD&D books I still use today in 1983. :(
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 17, 2023, 10:43:54 PM
just don't ask TCT what he was doing in '83 ;D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 17, 2023, 10:46:34 PM
those dudes look nice!

bring them up here next time you come and let's see them on the table en masse
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 11:05:16 PM
those dudes look nice!

bring them up here next time you come and let's see them on the table en masse

The goal is to get at least 100-point ADLG armies done before Southern Front. Hopefully, adulting responsibilities comply.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 17, 2023, 11:28:01 PM
just don't ask TCT what he was doing in '83 ;D

Haha...he hangs with us old guys in an RPG game and keeps us in line. :D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2023, 08:49:28 AM
I have issues. I started cleaning the next batch of Republican Romans last night. Cleaned the excess metal from the casting process and placed the miniatures in a Simple Green solution last night. The Simple Green bath is to remove the molding chemical residue. Is 12 hours too long? Probably but I like to give my metal the full spa treatment. Of course, I cannot let stuff sit. So this morning post-workout, I finished the cleaning process. These miniatures are from Old Glory 15s.

Toothbrush, a clean bowl of water, one of the wife's baking sheets, and some paper towels. Surprisingly, she said nothing as I was prepping the dining room table and rummaging through the cabinets for a baking sheet. I guess after 20 years she has come to accept my ways of being an awesome nerd.
(https://i.imgur.com/RY4dmCK.jpg)

32 Principes
(https://i.imgur.com/0cziLO6.jpg?1)

32 Hastati
(https://i.imgur.com/C4c4YW1.jpg?1)

This will make 8 L'Art De La Guerre (ADLG) bases or 15 DBA bases. And with the already painted Essex figures, I should have 10 bases of Republican Roman hastati and principes heavy foot stands for the field. The max base count in ADLG is 16 but I have never seen an army list with that many stands.

I am pretty sure this is not what the 80s tag line "we do more before 9 am than most people do all day" was referring to.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 18, 2023, 11:37:54 AM
Hahahaha
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on July 18, 2023, 09:09:32 PM
just don't ask TCT what he was doing in '83 ;D

 8)

just don't ask TCT what he was doing in '83 ;D

Don't know about that. Last session was rough for my dwarf  :sick:

Haha...he hangs with us old guys in an RPG game and keeps us in line. :D
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2023, 10:08:59 PM

Don't know about that. Last session was rough for my dwarf  :sick:


Yeah, the dice were a little stingy with the high rolls for you.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on July 18, 2023, 10:15:43 PM
Anyhow, I spent the evening priming a bunch of Romans with a zenithal highlight. Tomorrow I hope to begin the next phase and start assembly line painting them. And then I can move on to Roman cavalry and Italian allies.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 14, 2023, 08:51:51 AM
These bad boys will be making their dog-fighting debut this weekend at Southern Front. 6 wildcats and 6 zero are ready to fight over the blue-felt skies.
(https://i.imgur.com/Osx5FdP.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xCHTbq8.jpg)

No detailed work done for panel linings, yet. I am just going to gloss varnish for the convention and then experiment with oil washes later on a some point. I experimented with traditional wash on one and it was a mess. Not worth the effort and hassle of cleaning up to make look decent. So they go into the first foray fresh off the factory floor.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Doctor Quest on September 14, 2023, 09:44:07 AM
Those look really good. What scale are they?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on September 14, 2023, 11:00:00 AM
The models are 1/200th scale. These are the planes that come in Warlord Games Blood Red Skies Battle of Midway starter box.

Resin casts which is fine normally but some of my Mitsubishi A6M Zero's had poor definition on the canopy details.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 12, 2024, 11:31:04 AM
Where does the time go? Anyway, I have spent a little time working with Army Painter Speed Paints 2.0. I just wanted to get some plastic off the pile and good enough for the table. So far I like the results. Here's a couple of examples. I think I spent a grand total of 15 to 20 minutes on each of them. Mostly the time was letting the paints dry. I still need to work on how to get better effects but for about 30 minutes worth of time I can live with the results. If I had a little more ambition to do so, a quick highlighting would go a long way. But as it is there are now 2 new female fighter/ranger and 2 female thief types for the table.

(https://i.imgur.com/E6a0ZIK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lDKdJ8a.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 12, 2024, 10:11:08 PM
A couple more monsters for the collection. A couple of details could be touched up but I am lazy and , trust me, not a single person at my table will notice.
(https://i.imgur.com/8gmCjEY.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/dk4KsBz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/OLJWKi8.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: JudgeDredd on February 13, 2024, 02:35:10 AM
Those are superb.

I'm painting my Aliens board game figures at the moment. I say at the moment...I've have been at it for about two years.

I love painting...but I have anxiety about it being "right"...so I procrastinate

Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on February 13, 2024, 05:52:17 AM
Love the Owlbear 😎
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: JudgeDredd on February 13, 2024, 06:43:45 AM
Yeah you got sum skillz Bison. The depth you put into the paint is outstanding.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: bayonetbrant on February 13, 2024, 07:16:10 AM
JD, "right" is just "how the guy painting likes it"

Painted however you want, and who cares if no one else likes it or if they think there's something wrong with it  :peace:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 13, 2024, 07:22:58 AM
Those are superb.

I'm painting my Aliens board game figures at the moment. I say at the moment...I've have been at it for about two years.

I love painting...but I have anxiety about it being "right"...so I procrastinate

It looks really good JD. I understand your anxiety. I can get that mindset sometimes too particularly with army painting. It's easy to say but I just paint and embrace the outcome good or bad. And over the years, some of the minis I liked least the outcomes have seen the most time at the table.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 13, 2024, 07:24:22 AM
Love the Owlbear 😎

Thanks. I like the way he came out too. I think I need a second one for a greater beast unit in Dragon's Rampant.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on February 13, 2024, 08:44:41 PM
Great looking figures guys!
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2024, 02:52:42 AM
Bison

I don't want to hijack your thread - but how do I put some "depth" onto Burke there. His clothing is flat. His face is flat. I'd like to put a bit of life on him.

I guess maybe a wash? That might highlight the features? But I did do that before and it kind of made them just look dirty.

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 14, 2024, 11:11:26 PM
Bison

I don't want to hijack your thread - but how do I put some "depth" onto Burke there. His clothing is flat. His face is flat. I'd like to put a bit of life on him.

I guess maybe a wash? That might highlight the features? But I did do that before and it kind of made them just look dirty.

Any ideas?

No issues I am happy to discuss the hobby. I am sure my response will be a bit confusing. If so skip to the bottom and watch the first linked video if my rambling does not make sense.  :D

There are several techniques you can do but the easiest is to use a wash and then restore the "clean" look with layers of your base and highlight colors. It will help give depth by bringing out the detail and create a highlight effect. What wash brand and color are you using?

For the flesh color, a wash like Citadel Reikland Fleshshade works great. Paint a thin layer letting it settle in the recesses. Let the wash dry fully and then reapply your base color and then a highlight color to the high points leaving the wash in the recesses. The high points being forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Or just wash and see how you like it. For the table top, it will be fine and still bring out the details.

The clothing , a wash like Agrax Earthshade or Seraphim Sepia will work with the brown tones. Agrax is brown and Sepia is a reddish brown. They will tint the color differently. And then, reapply the base color leaving the wash in the recesses followed by a highlight layer.  However, painting layers to move from a base to a highlight colors works better. This is because your pants, for example, have large flat surfaces which means the wash has fewer recesses to settle and shade.

You can just use Agrax too. Or an Army Paint quick tone wash. And then apply layers of base and highlight color to clean up the look.

My honest recommendation is, if you can afford it, pick up some cheap miniatures and practice your technique on them. You can get a sprue or two of models pretty cheaply off eBay or similar site. It takes practice but it will come. I like to watch the linked YouTube channel below. Vince is the best miniature painting teacher online IMHO and about the only one I watch.

Skip to 17:31 of this video for wash and highlighting basics. It's hard to explain but watch him and it should make sense what you are trying to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXctnwW8Vt0&list=PLcdsbwBroEmCplpQ_s3jSuxW8-1KQrsfT&index=23 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXctnwW8Vt0&list=PLcdsbwBroEmCplpQ_s3jSuxW8-1KQrsfT&index=23)

Vince Ventrillo's Home Page. Or do a YouTube search of the topic and Vince's name and I guarantee he has a video about it. He's a prolific painting content creator.

https://www.youtube.com/@VinceVenturella/featured (https://www.youtube.com/@VinceVenturella/featured)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 17, 2024, 07:29:11 PM
This post is dedicated to Judge Dredd.  ;D

Painting is an experimental process. I did the vast majority of these figures with speed paints. The shields are...underwhelming. I need to experiment on the next batch with a few different ideas. However, I will maintain the red/yellow color scheme. The color scheme is to distinguish groups of 12 figures for Lion's Rampant and Dragon's Rampant purposes. I would have done the same shield pattern on each but I wanted some variety for RPGs and skirmish games. So that's my logic and I am sticking with it. I also hate spending money on shield transfers. So I just do hand painted simple patterns. I am in a I care more about just knocking out my fodder forces for the table and experimenting with painting in the process. I think in a batch or two I should have a more acceptable shield (flat surface) solution for the speed paints for my tastes.

(https://i.imgur.com/gn1pGDj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FvQIEMD.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on February 18, 2024, 10:29:17 AM
Those look so good!! What company's minis are those??
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 19, 2024, 08:02:58 AM
Those look so good!! What company's minis are those??

These are Fireforge miniatures. Specific  pack is call foot sergeants. I love many of the fantasy/historical kits from the non-GW companies. Low cost and a ton of options for your figures.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on February 19, 2024, 08:04:37 PM
Those look so good!! What company's minis are those??

These are Fireforge miniatures. Specific  pack is call foot sergeants. I love many of the fantasy/historical kits from the non-GW companies. Low cost and a ton of options for your figures.

I really like the way those figures look.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 21, 2024, 12:32:00 PM
Those look so good!! What company's minis are those??

These are Fireforge miniatures. Specific  pack is call foot sergeants. I love many of the fantasy/historical kits from the non-GW companies. Low cost and a ton of options for your figures.

I really like the way those figures look.

Yes they make nice figures and they are very reasonably priced. Plus you can make lots of poses and with various weapons types.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 21, 2024, 12:35:37 PM
Horses...the bane of almost every wargamer. You need them for a few thousand years worth of military conflict. Cavalry is so very cool on the table but a pain in the ass to get there.

Just painted up the first six of 24 horses for my first "historical" medieval imagi-nation. Eventually these will have crossbow men riders. They are next in the cue to paint.

(https://i.imgur.com/3FbTdyX.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 21, 2024, 07:46:50 PM
Ok the first three units are basically done. Just need to finish basing with some flock and static grass and then apply a varnish.
(https://i.imgur.com/0UUcAto.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/bv2Uktx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Dw4Uu68.jpg)
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: thecommandtent on February 21, 2024, 08:26:33 PM
 :dreamer:
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: JudgeDredd on February 22, 2024, 03:18:11 AM
Thanks Bison - your advice has been very helpful.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on February 22, 2024, 07:49:05 AM
Thanks Bison - your advice has been very helpful.

Hope to see some photos of your figs.
Title: Re: Bison's Tales of Hobby Crafting
Post by: Bison on March 03, 2024, 07:40:06 PM
Another unit of mounted sergeants completed. These ones are armed with lances. It's going to be a storage nightmare but they look cool. Still need to finish grass and a couple of painting touch ups before varnishing.

(https://i.imgur.com/XdkGRrq.jpg)