A wild update appears!!!


First I wanted to apologies for the almost 2 week gap between posts. I wanted to get this model (and a few others) finished so that I could show you a few completed models of the next few weeks.

I give you the Khador Gun Carriage by Privateer Press. I have wanted to paint this model for years and finally got the chance. I absolutely love this model. It's big, bulky has great lines that lend to shading and highlights. It just has the feel of being solid and tough. My only nitpick is that both horses have the exact same pose. Sadly they are two piece metal models (split down the middle) so no change of pose is really possible. Other than that it's just fantastic.

So here are the finished pictures.

Wooden Plank Base Tutorial. 

I am working on a model for competition and want it to really stand out. One of the best (or if done poorly worst) ways to highlight your models is to put it on a truly inspiring base. 

As this is a bigger model and the base size is 120mm (think the size of a DVD) it gives plenty of room for creativity. 

I have always wanted to try a wooden plank road and this was the perfect opportunity. 

First I gathered up the supplies. 

1. 120mm Round Base (came with the model)

2. Wooden stir sticks - I went with the smaller ones as they are more in scale. I picked them up at Hobby Lobby for $2.20. 

3. Air dry clay - The reason for air dry is that you can't bake the plastic base (fumes are bad.....)

5. A sharp knife

6. Bits to fill in the space. 

With the supplies in hand I started by figuring out how many sticks I would need. 

With that sorted out it was time to cut them down to size. To do this I took the model and measured out a few milliliters out from either side to keep it in scale. 

The next step is easy but time consuming. I marked and cut all the other sticks to size. 

Then it was on to dry fitting to make sure (again) that I had enough of them. 

As you can see not all are exactly the same length and that is on purpose. I want the "road" to have a realistic feel to it. 

Up next was breaking out the clay. I picked this stuff up at Hobby Lobby using the 40% off coupon. The really nice thing about this clay is that its nice and moist and really easy to work with. The down side to air dry clay is that it takes about 24 hours to harden and cure. 

Putting the clay on the base was rather simple. I made sure to leave it pretty lumpy to simulate muddy, bad terrain that would need a road of sorts. 

With that step out of the way it was time to lay out the planks. 

The goal was to lay them out in a semi-organized fashion. Enough to make sure it looks like a road but not OCD to the point that it looks unrealistic. 

As a last step I dipped into the bits box to add a bit of eye candy to mud. I used a gears, a shield from a model and the top of a club. 

And now its time to let the whole thing dry and get ready for priming and painting. 

Heldrake 2.0

Work continues on the Heldrake. I was able to spend a few hours starting on the gold, and let me tell you there is a metric ton of it going onto this model.....

I chose Vallejo Alcohol based - Old gold for this. I find that it works really well with the reds and the almost red tint of the gold picks up a reflection like quality.

So this is how far I was able to get. So much more to go.....

Heldrake WIP.


It's been a while since I've worked on a GW model, a good friend asked if I would paint his Heldrake. I've admired this bad boy for a long time, so I jumped at the chance to take it on.

My first thought was "Holy cow that's a big model" which was closely followed by "Holy cow, that's a lot of detail for a big model".

So with a stout heart I began by taping off the flight stand and priming the model. I primed it grey using Vallejo Surface Primer and let it cure for about 8 hours. Then coated it with Vallejo Model Color Grey/Black. Once dry I used Dawler Roweny - Red Ink as a base for the reds. After that it was time to add in the highlights and shadows. I mixed up some Vallejo Game Color - Stone Grey and added a few drops of P3 red ink to give it a more natural tone. Then it was time for the bright red of the P3 red ink.

All in all I'm about 3 hours into this behemoth and it's just now got its first layer of gloss coat. Next it will be the tedious work of browning all of the parts for the undercoat of the golds!

So here is the sequence in pictures.

Two models in one blog post!


Yes I can't believe it either. I was discharged from the hospital today and had way to much saved up energy when I got home that just needed to be channeled into painting. I was able to finish both the Privateer Press - Extreme Juggernaut and the Privateer Press - Butcher 1 models.

Both are just a blast to paint. The reds were done in my typical red ink through the airbrush technique. You will notice that I used a true black on the juggernaut. I figured I would mix things up a bit there.

I am particularity proud of the fur on pButchers back. Other than that here are some pictures.

Back from Vacation!


Have you ever not realized that you seriously needed a vacation? Well if you have then you know how I felt. We had set up a 4 day trip to Nashville to visit with friends and wound up staying for almost a week! That being said I hadn't realized how much good a break would do me.

I have been home for a few days and finally found the itch to paint. I have been working on a commission for another Blighted Bather from Privateer Press. I love working on alternate models. Especially fun stuff like this. This customer wanted the skin tone to match the normal Legion of Everblight colors and who am I to say no.

So here she is. All done and ready for her owner. I still chuckle when I look at the rubber ducky like Shredder.

Extreme Juggernaut 1.0

I decided to take a quick diversion from finishing up the GW models, and work on something I had been given by a friend for Christmas. The extreme juggernaut is a limited edition model from Privateer Press. It's much larger than the normal and weighs something like two pounds (that's just under a kg for you folks across the pond).

So far I have done the reds, blacks, silvers and golds on the model. It's now curing the gloss varnish before I wash and highlight.

Just something quick and fun I wanted to share.

Till next time folks.