Topic: Timbor's Fantasy Log (12-7 Westfalia Halflings)

[Delthos]

(and how much does it cost) vs scratch-building the thing from foamboard etc.?

It's not very cheap if you are wearing out Dremel diamond cutting wheels! They aren't cheap.

[Darknight]

That was one of the points I would have raised - equipment is very expensive (good stuff, at least) and to go through it like that . . .

[Timbor]

I can't quite say how much things have cost.  The building cost me $5, I might have used a couple dollars worth of dental stone.  Probably no more than $5 for the balsa-type wood.

As for the dremel bits, they are not 'dremel' or any other high quality brand.  A few years ago I got a big 300 piece set by the company "Jobmate" link.  They are basically the cheapest tools you can buy.  Canadian Tire, our favourite hardware store in Canadia, was probably selling the whole set for like $20 in a big truckload sale.  It's stuff I already had, and was not planning to use soon otherwise.  I went through a couple tiny ones, but the bigger burs, like the round one with a ~1/8" diameter has stood up fine.  I think it was part of my technique - one I started using a bit of water to cool it and remove debris, it cut more efficiently.  I expect the quality of the burs is quite low, which contributed to why I was ruining them.  I imagine I could do a whole building with one good, large round bur and my pliers.  A good one of those might sell for $10 or so?  If you want to give this a try, use a bigger diamond bur rather than a smaller one.

I would think the cost could be comparable to scratchbuilding from foamcore, provided you don't spend $20-30 or more buying a brand new building to destroy.

[Darknight]

Well, a piece of foamcore is about $5 - you can probably get a couple of buildings out of it, but might need to spring for some matt board for the base etc. Everything else would be the same.

[Timbor]

Yeah, so it might work out to be a bit more expensive.  However, you have to decide on whether you can (or want to) reproduce the same exterior detail on your scratchbuild, and whether it will be worth the time to make said detail.  I would assume I spent the same time detailing the interior as a scratchbuild...

[Darknight]

I think it would be swings-and-roundabouts, to be honest. You are going to spend about the same amount of time chipping away and carving as you would detailing.

Of course, the question is "Do you want to spend time building or destroying?" Some men just want to watch the world burn . . .

The use of this technique could be excellent to add to existing methods of scratch-building, though - do a house or three like this. Have you looked in places like JoAnn's (or whatever you have in the great white north)? They sometimes have decorative houses which are not made of porcelain. They also have wood or compressed brownboard forms for crafting projects.

[Timbor]

Not sure what JoAnn's is... looks kinda like Michaels here in Canada.  There are lots of places you can find this sorta thing - the main issue would be cost, of course.

I must admit, the smashing and breaking was very therapeutic.  Though I am not sure I would want to do a whole table of these things.  I have a few ideas for some leftover hirst blocks - mostly to make houses with a stone base and foamcore walls.  That idea is a little ways off from coming to fruition, however.

[Delthos]

JoAnn's is a fabric store. They mostly sell fabric, tailor supplies, and upholstery supplies, but they do have some craft type stuff as well.

[Darknight]

JoAnns is just like Michael's.

I have a few ideas for some leftover hirst blocks - mostly to make houses with a stone base and foamcore walls.  That idea is a little ways off from coming to fruition, however.

The wife and I are going to use this technique to make a creche (nativity scene, in my homeland) for Christmas. We have some Prince August castings of the Holy Family etc.

[Timbor]

Been a little while since I updated, as I have been distracted with DeepWars and SAGA, but I have aroused some interest in OldHammer in my local gaming group, so saw fit to put together an empire army.  To start, I painted up an old wizened wizard.  Loads of fun to paint, I tried some new techniques.  I primed grey, then gave a white zenith prime.  I used inks and washes for most of the block colours, with some paint for highlighting.  Really sped up the process and gave me a nice gaming miniature in about an hour or so. 









Some more discussion on my blog if you are interested.  Feel free to stop by, comment, follow me, or whatever people do with blogs these days!

[Timbor]

I have been working on my Oldhammer Reiksguard over this past month.  So far I have gotten 15 painted, though some of them still need shields.  Mostly old marauder fighters, battle lords, etc, and one WK dwarf for good measure:









I used similar techniques to the wizard with zenith priming and inks.  I was probably able to spend about 40 minutes per figure, as I did them in groups of 5.  There are some more pictures on my blog as well.  mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca

Enjoy!

[White Knight]

They look great! The dwarf would have fit in even more if you'd used one of the new knight heads, though he blends in well enough as it is. 

[Timbor]

I still have to give you my order for said knight heads, so I don't have any available at the moment.  Plus, I wanted to pain up the big bearded face.  It was pretty satisfying.  Now, to search for a pile of money to send to WK...

[Midaski]

I love these old figures when they are presented like this - so much individual character.

[mr chumley warner]

Man after my own heart !

 

[Timbor]

Thanks, guys.

Chumley, I knew you would like them.  Though, my collection won't be as obsessive extensive as yours 

[Timbor]

I have a nice little surprise for you!  No, it is not pictures of the completed reiksguard unit (don't worry, its finished, just actually need to take the pictures).  I finished a cannon for my Oldhammer army.





A total blast to paint, the bell was beautifully detailed and took to some verdigris staining very well.  These minatures look so nice, I decided they also needed a scenic base:







The base was from 4ground, and I used some miscellaneous Hirst Arts blocks, a GW fence, and then the usual sand, flock, tufts, and flowers.  It really brings the piece to life and helps show off the immense character of these figures.

[Your Mother]

That looks great. Such characterful models too.

[Timbor]

A local friend posted a dipping recipe recently, using future floor polish (available in Canada and US... not sure what options are overseas):

1. One bottle of Clear Floor Finish.
2. Black India Ink
3. Brown India Ink
4. A Tap
5. A container with a VERY tight lid (I would recommend a large mason jar)

Mixing intructions:

1. In the Mason Jar put in 150 mL of Future Floor Finish.
2. Add 30 mL of black ink, and 30 mL of brown ink. Then, add 60 mL of water.
3. Mix well and let it sit (Until all the bubbles are gone).

I mixed up a test batch (though I substituted brown acrylic ink for brown india ink).  I decided to try it on my Tabletop world windmill.  It is not yet completely finished, the sails have to be done as well, but here is an idea so far.  Pretty simple work, you can read exactly what I did on my blog:

[Timbor]

Happy New Year's, everyone!  It has been a little busy the past few months, and while I did get some painting done, very little was photographed.  I am in the process of remedying that, so in the meantime I will share a figure which I finished during December.  This miniature was painted for the miniature-exchange on this forum.  It is the Lead Adventure Miniatures 'Wilhelm von Shakespeare' figure from their Bruegelburg range.  A spectacular figure, there is really nothing to say other than that.  Brilliantly sculpted, a true joy to paint, and delightfully unique.  Luckily, I got two so I can paint one up for myself.  Mine will be painted in a very similar way, with a few colour switches here and there.  I gave him a nice little scenic base using a chunk of pine bark.  Here are some pics, there are a few more on my blog







Next up, a bunch of the long-anticipated and promised LAM halberdiers!

[rufus sparkfire]

Is that pig wearing a fez? 

Mind = blown.

[Timbor]

My thoughts exactly.  It's amazing nobody ever thought of it before!

[Timbor]

Finally, the long-promised halberdiers.  I have finished 13 out of a planned unit of 20. Six of them were painted back in July, and I just never posted pictures of them.  The rest were finished this week.

First, we will start out with a group shot so far:



I have opted for a more mercenary approach with this unit, combining several different colour schemes for a nice bit of variety in the unit.  It helps to keep the painting interesting, rather than using the same colours all the time, and it makes for a very characterful unit.  The main schemes for this unit are red and blue, yellow and blue, red and green, and green and yellow (still to come).  Now for the individual pictures:







As usual, there are a few more pictures on my blog.

I had also planned to use these guys as steelhead halberdiers next time I get a chance to try warmachine again.  I have some 30mm round mdf bases with some inserts for the 20mm square base to fit.

[Zjivago]

Love the models and your style of painting, inspiring 

[White Knight]

These make me wish I hadn't gone for a unique colour scheme for my empire.