Crusader29 Terrain

Here are some pieces I put together using resin Crusader29 terrain. This stuff started out as completed wall sections provided by Tim K (thanks Tim); Tim said he never thought he'd get around to using this stuff so he donated it to the Osgiliath project. I had to break apart the full wall sections and damage them some to get the look that I wanted. I also took modeling putty and filled in the inner facing of the walls; the outer facing has great detail, but the inner facing was recessed in the center and the edges were raised...this was due to how the molds were set up by the company. Using the modeling paste allowed me to give a stucco looking finish to the inner walls. Overall I am happy with how they turned out. Here are a couple of pictures of one of the ruins...there are more, but I only took pictures of this piece.

Armorcast Ruins

Well, I've gotten some flak recently about not doing anything for myself except purging stuff from my collection...so to prove my nay-sayers wrong, here's some terrain I've been working on in support of the Gathering in the Desert Lord of the Rings tournament which will be held in February. I'm going to provide the terrain for a 4x4 ruined city representing the beaten and battered city of Osgiliath. I'm using terrain pieces from Armorcast, Pegasus, and Crusader29. I would like to thank Tim K for cutting the bases the building ruins are on. So, here are some of the pieces:

Armorcast ruines and ruined walls

Armorcast ruined cathedral
Another view of the cathedral

Armorcast ruined building

Another set of Armorcast ruins

2009 "To Do" List

OK...I know...I know...it's been several months since I posted last...been busy, but that's no real excuse. One of the big issues for me is that I want to take decent pictures, but I have no conveniant place to do so...that's one of the things I'll work on this year. Here are some others:

1-Finish my Lord of the Rings Rohan army in time for the Gathering in the Desert tournament in late February. I have 30 riders complete...now I just need to do the characters and dismounts.

2-Post an average of one post per week on this long-neglected blog, so 52 posts for 2009 is my goal.

3-Finish the 17 chariots for my 28mm Mitanni army for WAB; this will complete the army.

4-Finish my 15mm WWII Afrika Korps. Fernando painted the infantry, but I have to do touch-ups and base them. I also have to assemble and paint all of the tanks, trucks, and guns.

5-Finish either the Babylonian or Andalusian armies I have for WAB. In this case Philgreg painters painted all of the infantry and cav riders, but I have touch ups to do and also have to paint several dozen horses for each (and a few chariots for the Babylonians) and do all of the basing (which is a tedious chore for me).

6-Finish up Mike's 28mm Flanders army for WAB.

7-Undecided. I will either do a 15mm army for Might of Arms or some 28mm ACW or who knows...maybe just a combination of things and start some new projects as the items I have listed previously make up the majority of the started projects that I haven't finished yet.

If I do anything "new" it's likely to be 15mm Napoleonics as I've been kicking that idea around for a while...though there are some other areas/periods I'm interested in as well.

Well, that's it for my 2009 "resolutions" for gaming I guess...of course, this list is subject to change based on my ever changing interests!

More Painting Stuff

I figured that since I was doing some posting on painting, I'd fill you in on a few other things. One is Future Floor Finish. It's a clear acrylic that you can use to wash a figure with; much like "the Dip" in the previous posting. I mix mine 50-50 with water and add inks to use for shading figures; I haven't mastered it yet and I've ended up with either too much or too little ink in the mix from time to time. I like it because it does clean up with water and doesn't smell like "the Dip", but I haven't mastered it yet and it's still a work in progress for me as far as painting goes.

As for how I paint. With very few exceptions (like vehicles or 10mm stuff or terrain or figures on GW style bases) I mount my 15mm & 25/28mm figures on nails for painting. I have a few small boards that my friend Neil drilled out for me years ago and I just stick the nails in the holes. I even do this for horses. I like it because I don't have to touch the figure when painting and I have great control over the figure when painting; I tried the popsicle stick thing, but doing that just seems to cramp my hand after a while. The only negative is having to glue the figures to the nails and pop them off of the nails afterwards...doesn't take too much time, but it's a pain.

"The Dip"

I've been using "the Dip" for several years now...oh, I can still "paint" and do so occasionally to prove to myself (and others) that I still can. "The Dip" is a manner of washing or staining a figure using Minwax Polyshades stain. I use Satin Tudor. Gloss does not stain as well and figures generally are still very shiney using the gloss...even after a coat of dulcote. The Tudor gives a good black shading to the figures, and the "poly" in "Polyshades" is for "polyeurothane" which protects your figures nicely...I can't recall ever having a scratch on a figure that has been "dipped". I do the washing out in my garage because between the dip and the "odorless" mineral spirits the fumes can be a bit much. I use a brush that I wet with mineral spirits to brush on "the Dip"...when I first started I would just dunk the figures in and let it run off of them and use a cloth to soak up the excess. I now brush it on and use the mineral spirits to help it flow when needed and also to lighten up areas that get too dark...you can go back over the figure for a few minutes after brushing on "the Dip"; don't wait too long though, especially out here in AZ as it can set up pretty quickly.
Here are some figures "pre-dip". They are 28mm and were primed white.

Here are the same figures "post-Dip"; hopefully you can see the difference with the shading that takes place. The figures are still wet so that's why they are as shiney as they are. They will still have a satin finish with some shine to it when completely dry, but then they get hit with Testor's Dulcote and the shine is gone.

More WAB Mitanni

Here are the rest of the infantry for my 28mm WAB Mitanni Army that were painted by Fernando Enterprises. The javelinmen are Newline Designs, the Sea Peoples are from Old Glory, and the Phoenicians are from Foundry.

Javelinmen

Phoenicians
Sea Peoples

WAB Mitanni Infantry

Here are some pictures of the start of my 28mm WAB Mitanni Army. The infantry are mostly from Foundry with some Newline Designs mixed in. I've had these guys for quite some time, but only recently based them up. I sent them to Fernando Enterprises in Sri Lanka to get painted and I think they did a good job. All of the infantry are done, but I have 17! chariots I have to paint up myself. I'll get cracking on those soon hopefully. The army will be mostly Mitanni with a Hittite allied contingent.

Archer Unit 1

Archer Unit 2

Archer Close-up

Hittite Spearmen
Mitanni Spearmen

I took these pictures in the portable photobox my wife got me for Xmas. I like it for taking pictures in...I seem to have less issues with focus than I did in the past; now my main issue is the lighting which I'm still working on as you can tell by the pictures. Maybe I'll get it, maybe I won't, but either way I don't think the pictures are awful.