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Post by mottdon on Aug 1, 2023 12:20:31 GMT
Very minor update today, In a rush to finish my last batch of half started miniatures before the birth of my firstborn, I went ahead and applied some finishing touches. Mostly, this meant basing some miniatures and prepping the bases for a few others. To make my bases I usually use a mix of grout, sand, filter medium, discarded flock and anything ese that's granular enough I can just scoop into an old jar. For some reason, this time, the grout clumped up on a number of bases; and, after drybrushing, I was left with whitish globs. I decided to try and paint details directly into the base to cover it up and to add a touch of colour I went with mushrooms.  Yay or nay? Sorry I missed this, but CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BIRTH OF YOUR CHILD! |
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Post by Luigino on Aug 1, 2023 12:24:04 GMT
Ahahah well thank you!
it's been a buys 4 months at this point. But I really cannot complain.
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Post by Luigino on Aug 3, 2023 15:26:01 GMT
Another partial update: I started painting the banner. This was the first time since middle school I put brush to paper. It’s also my first foray into free-handing. This is what it looks so far.  For the back I’m going with a simple split scheme for now; I might go back later and add some details.  I sketched the whole banner (including lettering) on a large piece of cardstock (the backing of a note pad) and then slowly filled it in a la paint by numbers. for reasons I’ve yet to comprehend I decided against priming; this turned out to be a terrible decision. The cardstock is extremely absorbent and rough, this meant that every colour had to be applied over and over and over again before it stopped showing the brown of the paper underneath. This isn’t too much of a problem for the grey area (the tower looks alright) but for the sky and the grass it was a nightmare. I started with miniature paint but soon realized that it would basically act as very expensive primer so I switched to some cheap leftover acrylic in tiny plastic pot I’ve had for years and never used. The roughness of the paper (made worse by wet paint) also made it extremely hard to do straight thin lines. I was really worried about curling and warping, especially once I really started applying watered down layers for highlights. It turned out this was not a problem at all, it is now pleasantly wavy, but I suspect that painting it on the main sheet and then cutting it after drying was a good call. The lettering, which I attempted to do from the beginning turned out to be a problem as with every layer or two of colour I’d have to go back and re-do every single letter. So I’m just going to try and be careful at the very end. Looking at it, I suspect that black letters wouldn’t be too readable and might opt for a bright grey instead. The Runic inscription on the other hand, came out well and showed some staying power, albeit that too requires another passing of black to make it really pop For the “hooks, I did not calculate the length correctly and they are now way too short; this is not a big deal as I can just cut some cardstock extensions, but still. So far I’m very satisfied with how it’s coming along, but for my next paper banners I’ll definitely spray/prime the cardstock before I sketch anything. I’m hoping this let’s me have more vibrant colour with less layers and, to have an easier time with straight thin lines. I’m not sure what to do with the circular window in terms of colour. |
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Post by Luigino on Aug 8, 2023 13:14:11 GMT
Another update:
here's the first dry fit run of the banner
I went for chains because I wanted to try yet another thing I had never done. They were a bit of a pain in the ass to work with and I think they might have ended up a tiny bit too long.
They do, however, make it really easy to remove the banner for transport and storage (or I want to swap out for a different banner)
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Post by Luigino on Aug 9, 2023 16:41:41 GMT
Another update.
I finished the lettering on the banner.
As you can see the spacing had to be done differently since writing with a brush isn't as easy as with a pen or pencil.
It looks more balanced though, I don't mind.
Left to do now is to add the other smaller banner on the side and to decorate the pole, I was thinking something along these lines.
The decorations can be non- dwarven shields/weapons taken as trophy from winning games. Or dwarven shields from units that distinguish themselves somehow in a game.
The square legionnaire type shield at the bottom I just think looks cool and might be used for the dwarf actually acting as the SB.
For the smaller draping flag I'm unsure if I want to do a single colour, a gradient, or draw something on it, but something on that side would help in balancing the look of the banner.
I also have to decide on a miniature to be the thane that will hold the banner.
Since the banner Is that big, I had to settle on dwarfs without raised weapons or plumed helmets.
These two are perfect.
Now, I'm very partial to the first guy's belly, but the plate armoured is both one of my favourite miniatures,
he also has a very noble and portrait like pose, which works well for such a role.
At the end though both are going to get stripped and repainted and I'll get to use them both.
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Post by grandmasterwang on Aug 12, 2023 16:06:05 GMT
Excellent updates.
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Post by Luigino on Aug 13, 2023 2:32:00 GMT
Thank you GMwang. Before my Saturday shift, this morning I did a bit of work. Nothing fancy. first I finished these two guys.  I have a dozen or so of painted bodies rattling in a box, so I grabbed some painted arms and glued them, The guy in the left is not really meant to hold a shield (he's a quarrelers and his left arm is molded to hold a rifle with both hands) but the shield itself hides the iffy joint. I'm not in love with them but I'd rather have 2 extra completed models than an ever increasing pile of half touched miniatures. I also finished my shieldwall/movement tray  I tried something I had never tried before and took a more abstract approach to painting it, hence the XXXX pattern. It works... alright-ish. There's a couple f very details to finish off but I'm calling it done.  As you can tell I didn't even bother with the inside of the shields.  And here's with some thunderers. basically this allows me to have my shooting unit count as wielding a shield without actually having to glue a shield on them, it'll also help me remember the shieldwall rule. Plus I think it's a very dwarfy thing to do. I love the concept though and will surely be making more. I have hundreds of shields coming in soon, so I'll probably be making a lot of these. |
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Post by grandmasterwang on Aug 13, 2023 3:26:06 GMT
Abstract xxxx pattern works for me.
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Post by Luigino on Aug 19, 2023 16:57:02 GMT
I gathered all the painted bodied I had lying around and assigned each one of them whatever bits that would fit on them. i really dislike this generation of plastic dwarfs and painting them is never fun. But I cannot stand having half done miniatures so I decided to work through these before moving forward with other models. This is what I have on my work space as of this monday  a quick priming  and we should be good. I finished 5 of them so far  they look ok, I'm just glad to be actually finishing models |
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Post by markdienekes on Aug 19, 2023 16:58:17 GMT
They look more than okay, chap, they're awesome!
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Post by masterofnone on Aug 23, 2023 19:01:50 GMT
I agree, really original colour scheme and neat technique.
I also liked your banners with your freehand in Italian (monte Trocchio - is that real, where? Or just a place in Tilea?)
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Post by Luigino on Aug 23, 2023 20:18:42 GMT
They look more than okay, chap, they're awesome! Thank you! I just... really dislike these particular sculpts, such a pain to paint. I agree, really original colour scheme and neat technique. I also liked your banners with your freehand in Italian (monte Trocchio - is that real, where? Or just a place in Tilea?) Thank you as well! And yeah, it is an actual place (a mountain with the ruins of a very old castle, built around or before 1000 AD, on top), but the name literally means Mountain of the stocky tower which translates perfectly in Khazalid as Karak Mingol. The latin motto might be a bit too on the nose, but I like it nonetheless. |
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Post by hivefleetmanticore on Sept 2, 2023 2:24:23 GMT
These are fantastic!  |
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Post by Luigino on Sept 2, 2023 13:24:22 GMT
Thank you! and here's the latest update  5 more random dwarfs. The 2 thunderers on the right were painted while holding my 5 months old in one hand so the details on the rifle are a bit wonky. I made a mistake with some bits ending up with with the wrong body so the guy on the right is holding 2 hammers and he looks just as confused as I am about it. I'm calling them done. slow progress, but still progress |
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Post by Luigino on Sept 10, 2023 12:07:15 GMT
It's been a week, so here's another update. I finished 5 more random dwarfs: 2 musicians, 2 warriors and some sort of artillery crew member.  I particularly like the eyes on number 2 and 3. I also prepped 3 EM4 dwarfs, one of each type, to see how they'll paint up.  (I have 147 more waiting to be rebased and cleaned up, something I'm not too keen on starting right away) finally, I found this kinder egg toy in my bits box so I started working on a little treasure pile token.  |
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