Back from Games Day 2011!

Here we are at 11 in the morning keepin' it casual with a Khorne Berzerker. This suit was out of control! It looks way better than any of the giant marines they drag around and you can wear it!

My second favorite part about GD is seeing all the completed tables. 

There were many more to be seen. They also had every specialist game. Mordheim, Lord of the Rings, Necromunda, Space Hulk, Bloodbowl, come to think of it there was no GorkaMorka in sight : /

There were of course a mess of mega battles too. Here's brother John after Kharn the Betrayer slaughtered Grey Hunters, a dreadnaught, and a Berzerker as well. Khorne cares not from where the blood flows.

Remember: the more teeth you show, the happier you are. Naturally since you can see his rear molars Brother John was ecstaic!

Who can forger this cool game. One guy runs a cone out on the floor and you guess how far away he is. The whole crowd shouts BOOM and another guy sprints off with the end of the largest tape measurer know to man. If you're within 2 feet of the target you get a box from the table. I didn't win.

The attendees really make the day though. You gotta love these guys.

My favorite part is all the free swag to be had, most coveted of the swag was the Golden Demon trophy. Like I said before I had 9 entries, all of which made first cut, I was over joyed to see that 3 of them won Golden Demons. Silver in the squad category, silver in the diorama category, and Gold in the Lord of the Rings single category.

Sorry I don't have time to photograph all my entries but in 2 days I'm off to Gen Con so I'm a little strapped for time. I should have some up by the end of August when I return.

A day later and I can't wait until the next Games Day. 

Hopefully I can collect some more Demons. What a rush, it's hard to explain the feeling but I think this video sums it up nicely.

Finished Zombie and I'm off to Gamesday Chicago!

Yesterday I finished off the zombie by Rackham I've been slowly working on. This guy is kind of an experiment, I used a very limited pallet of bestial brown, maby hues of blue, purple, and olive green. Just a simple combination of complimentary colors. I'm also very happy to add this model to my collection as it's my first completed Rackham mini. Oh boy!

http://www.coolminiornot.com/284089

So since I finished all my models ahead of time and finished one I didn't plan on having done I naturally started to build some more :) Here's the beginnings of my next Sanguinary priest.

Magnetic options all the way!

Now it's time to finish gathering my supplies for Gamesday. So far I have my minis securely cased up, my ticket of course, some sticky tac and a plinth, and the dirty rags I plan to don at this year's convention.

All I need now is some nourishment. Food and Booze :) Once I have that I can head over to Brother John's place and begin the festivities. Nothing like a party before a 6 a.m. 3 1/2 hour drive to Chicago.

See you at Gamesday!

Madrak Ironhide Finished!

I'm happy to say I've completed my Epic Madrak Ironhide and much earlier than I expected. I'm usually painting the day before a compeition. Hmm... getting things done ahead of schedule instead of the last minute, what a concept.

Go vote for him on Coolmini!:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/283887

He'll be making an appearance at Gen Con with my Diretroll Blitzer but enough about Privateer Press. What about Games Workshop?

Here we see my 9 entries patiently waiting for saturday's Golden Demon.

After that I won't be posting for a while, between Gen Con for a week and an 11 day tour with my band there isn't much home time. I'll be back in wisconsin on the 22nd though and I have many projects lined up for that timeframe, many, many, projects :)

Hopefully I can get a post in after Games Day. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Urui Hai Shaman completed

This guy has been patiently waiting for his closeup and friday night he got it. No socializing for me, I have a GamesDay approaching! Paint, Paint, Paint, has replaced the static and medieval concept of eat, sleep, work (shit). With no further ado, ere be stuff.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/283758

Wip update and a Finished Nosferatu

I finally took some decent photos of Nosferatu the other night. 

A very fun and simple model to paint :)

Today I spent around 8 hours painting Madrak Ironhide in preparation for the Privateer Press Grand Master Painting Competition at Gen Con this year. I've been enjoying the Non metallic metal technique lately. Here he is nearly complete, then I'll take some time on the photos. So far so good though, he'll definitely be done in time for Gen Con. 

There's also a Golden Demon right around the corner, on the 30th to be exact, which has me getting all kinds of excited. I always have a blast at Games Day, well, the 2 I've been to at least. I'll have no less than 9 entries this year, granted some of them aren't the strongest of paint job but I figure if I have something to fill the category why not? 

Finished Cleric and a sneeky peek diorama

 Once the sun went down last night it was photograph time and not of the neighbors. This time it was a sassy cleric and the center of a hive city ravaged by an alien invasion.

Here's that cleric in all her spiritual ecstasy.

I did photograph Nosferatu as well but once again I was not happy with the end result. Tonight will be different!

Lately I've been dedicating more time to this little gem. I plan on entering it at Gamesday Chicago this year, which is only 10 days away! The bio mass needs work and then it's time to put the finisher on this project. This one has been a long time in the making and is the first diorama I've ever attempted. I'm glad I was convinced to pick it back up and see it through. Especially knowing it will be an entry at Gamesday :) So far So good.

WIP Madness

I haven't posted in a while as my camera was out of state. Here are some of the projects (not all) that I'm set on finishing before the end of the month. With all my distractions and appointments out of the way I'm free for the next 13 days to get some serious painting done. Here's where I've gotten to so far.

First up is the mighty Madrak, I've been slowly getting his colors squared away and I think I've arrived at a good color scheme for now. We'll see how it evolves, I plan on highlighting all the brown armor up with grey and then adding jade to the recesses to make a rusted effect.

What I've mainly been working on are the Armorcast Lance and Laser minis I've been commissioned to do. I've slowly reworked Nosferatu and he's almost complete at this point. I'll be finishing him off after this post. Not the best pictures but I'll take the time for that when he's done.

And not too far behind Nosferatu is the lovely Cleric. She still has a ways to go with the reds but the plan is to get her finished tomorrow which I believe I'm capable of. I really like the base made by Armorcast, it provided some really cool areas for light and shadow.

Now that my camera is back I'm hoping to post some finished pieces tomorrow night. 

Here's to the future.

Cheers!

Dwarf Bagpiper finished/solving the riddle of plaid

Here's another mini from Armorcast, more specifically Lance and Laser. It is my pleasure to present him to you in all his drunken, stumbling glory.

Go vote for him on Coolminiornot:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/282825

I'm really starting to miss my old camera which was stolen from me. I'm very thankful to my girlfriend for loaning me her camera but man, the quality of these photos is really starting to get at me. But hey, painted models always look better in person.

I like to imagine he hasn't been hired to play the pub but rather showed up with and instrument. Rocking this little ditty on his pipes. Insulting to the locals as it may be.

Interesting fact, the singer Shane Macgowan claims he hasn't been sober a day in his life since he was 14. Rock on buddy!

I had a good time trying to figure out the mystery of painting plaid but after some messing around, I did this guys jacket and hat twice, I think I've arrived at a comfortable level where I can start experimenting with the technique.

I didn't get to paint as much as I wanted to yesterday but that's expected on a Sunday. Also It was hotter than a crotch yesterday and twice as soupy, the phrase humid as fuck was tossed around. Anyway what I did do, besides working the metals on Tigurius, was get a base going for Madrak Ironhides "quitari".

So far so good, I plan on entering this guy in the privateer press grandmaster competition that's taking place during Gen Con so getting him off to a quick start is important.

Cheers!

Finished Barmaid!

Yesterday I finished the Dwarven Barmaid in the morning and after messing with my lightbox and replacement camera I got some decent photos. This is a milestone for me, it's the first miniature I've painted for a company that produces miniatures. Yay!

Complete with frothing mug of mead she's up on Coolminiornot:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/282694

Now I have all but one of the Armorcast models prepped and ready for some paint. Last night in the wee hours I naturally began working on the next model, Nosferatu. Here he is in progress, creepin' while you sleepin'

Nosferatu was almost done and then my clear coat made him too glossy so it looks like the only option is re-do him. He'll be ready shortly...I also prepped the Cleric I had been handed by Ginfritter. Luckily I found her base, (floor of the car) before I committed some time to the project :P

I was happy to see that there was a bit cloth that hung down further than the models foot, a great place to pin it to the base. Hi five to the sculptor!

Well I'm off to paint some plaid on a tiny warrior with a bagpipe and cape...

After that Nosferatu will be revived.

Rackham Zombie strikes again and it's John's Birthday!

A couple months back I started painting a zombie and sharing some techniques with my friend Jake. Here's a link to that post.

http://samsonminis.blogspot.com/2011/05/zombie-wip.html

We finally had the chance to sit down again and work on our Zombies recently. This time we worked on the clothing and I wanted to share the progress on my zombie thus far.

I've really been concentrating on having the right weight in all the right spots and really pushing the contrast. When I was putting the above pictures into photoshop it was acting strangely and I made some black and white photos by accident. This is really cool to look at a model you're working on like this and it really helps to show if something is over or under saturated with the right tone...in a weird way.

I don't know, I just though it was interesting and would encourage anyone else to examine their models in this way as it provides a different perspective.

Samson minis would like to extend a warm birthday wish to Brother John. When this is posted he will be patrolling a prison for the mentally ill...Have a great birthday!!!

Tribe of the Bear complete

 Wow, what a weekend! I had a bit of time to try and capture this illusive tribe before handing them off on Sunday. I'm not entirely pleased with these photos as I couldn't zoom in quite far enough and still capture the ten models standing in the light box. But at any rate here they are in their shining glory.

Their owner Teddy is a member of the military and he's off to Afghanistan. As he heads out this week I wish him the best of luck and to be safe. I also hope he has time to paint all the steel legion he's bringing with him ;) Take care of yourself Teddy! We'll see you soon man.

I'll be braving the battlefields of the paintpocalypse this month as I have a whole mess of models I want to finish before Gamesday and Gen Con. 

So if you're wondering where I'll be in July I'll be right here.

Next up, Dwarves from Armorcast!

Minis for sale!

 Just a quickie this time baby. I threw the gorgeous Demon Tower from Rackham up on E-bay last night as well as a Rune Priest I had sitting around.

Here's that Demon Tower, out of print and up for sale. Still shrink wrapped too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-pack-Rackham-Confrontation-Mid-Nor-Demon-Tower-/330584121251?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf8595fa3#ht_500wt_1156

You may remember this guy from the last time he didn't sell. Well he's back and the same as ever, this time with more similarity to the last time!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wh40k-Pro-Painted-Space-Wolves-Rune-Priest-w-chooser-/330584122961?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf8596651#ht_500wt_1156

The next item on the agenda is figuring out how exactly I'm going to photograph 30 dudes.On friday I happily finished the Tribe of the Bear :) The only challenge left with that project is taking the time to snap a few photos and capture each model in it's full glory. Every one of them is different which presents a bit of a challenge, oh well, I'll figure something out. After all the painting is done, now I can get to work on those Dwarfs from Armorcast!