[Workshop] Putties

Updated on April 30, 2016. This post will list the variety of putty that I have in my inventory and what I use them for. I use putty for conversions and filling gaps, however, my main interest is to use putty so that I can make use of all the extra bits from the plastic kits. For example, I have extra human heads and arms. I decided to make the torso and legs so that I can make an extra Empire crew member. My sculpting is rather basic and there is a lot of room for improvement! Nevertheless, if I can get better with putty, it will open up an entire new section to my miniature hobby.

Yellow-grey putty was used to make the torso and leg.

[Workshop] Undercoat

The first 51 miniatures I completed, I use White or Black acrylic paint (Apple Barrel) as the undercoat. The paint adheres fairly well to the plastic miniatures.  However, for metal miniatures, the Apple Barrel paints have a tendency to peel off from the metal. Currently, I undercoat models with acrylic gesso and found it adheres to metal and plastic miniatures very well.

[Workshop] Basing Miniatures

Last updated on August 31, 2016 - Below is the standard way I base my miniatures--a variety of rock.gravel, and some grass spread at different parts of the base. So far, all my miniatures are based in the same exact way. In addition, all of them have a magnet added under their base. To add more variety to bases, I plan to try other ways for basing miniatures, such as using texture stamps.

[Log] Dungeons & Dragons Castle Ravenloft Heroes - Part 1

September 12. 2015 to September 21, 2015 -  Wrapping up on the Battle Masters Knights, I started work on the heroes from the Dungeons & Dragons Castle Ravenloft board game. I play this cooperative board game with my nephews and nieces. This past Friday was my nephew's birthday, so I decided to paint the miniature he uses the most, Arjhan, first.

From left to right: Thorgrim Dwarf Cleric; Allisa, Human Ranger;
Arjhan, Dragonborn Fighter; Kat, Human Rogue; amd Immeril, Eladrin Wizard

[Workshop] Sealing Miniatures

To seal painted miniatures, I use Golden Polymer Varnishes with UVLS.  I apply by brush with 1 coat of a gloss finish and then one coat of a matte finish.  According to Golden Artist Colors, the varnish dries to touch by 30 minutes and a second coat can be applied in 1-3 hours.  The label on the containers states that the varnishes require 1-3 hours to dry and 3-6 hours before you can apply a second coat.  From my experience, the drying time is closer to what the website suggested. I think the drying time written on the bottles is to be on the safe side. Flock for the base is added after both varnish coats have been applied.

[Workshop] Horses - Painting Reference

Sometimes I will post Workshop articles that summarize my painting schemes for common subjects or themes. These articles will act as a reference guide to when I have to paint that particular subject or theme again. The first Workshop article of that type is about painting horses. Horses are prevalent in the fantasy setting whether as mounts for warriors or as workers pulling chariots or wagons down the battlefield. This week, I finished painting my first horse.  As there was a lot of armor on them, it made it a bit less daunting to paint. The plan is to update this post as I expand, improve, or revise my painting schemes on horses.

From left to right: Chestnut (red brown), brown, dark brown, and palomino color schemes

[Log] Battle Masters Knights - Part 3

September 7, 2015 to September 14, 2015 - This past week I finished painting all 12 knights and their horses. This week, I will  put the final touche to complete them--gluing, basing, and sealing. As I wrapped up on painting these miniatures, I started preparing the next set of miniatures for painting--the adventurers from the the D&D Castle Ravenloft game.  Each separate projects will have their own logs.

Finished painting the knights and horses. Need to glue, base, and seal then I'm done!

[Log] Battle Masters Knights - Part 2

September 2, 2015 to September 6, 2015. Hello, this past week I took the advice to paint every day even if it is just for a short amount of time. Currently, I have painted for 5 days straight! Tonight would be the sixth.  This will be the second week of working on the Battle Master Knights. If I stay on course and paint at the same speed, I should have the 12 knights completed and sealed by the end of the 4th week.  I ended the last log planning to paint two of the riders completely.

Warhammer Fantasy Armies 4-ic Project Plan

Updated on September 14, 2015.  This post is about my Warhammer Fantasy Armies Project. The original project was called Warhammer Fantasy Battalions which was to paint the minimum amount of models needed to field a legal force for all 15 armies in 8th Edition and Age of Sigmar. Recently on Warseer, I was asked for a detailed list of what I plan to paint for each army. While writing up that list, it made me think of what I would like to do after completing these starter armies--which is to continue building the small force into a respectable army. The long term plan of building and painting these armies is divided into 4 phases.  The first phase is the original plan of 1 hero and 3 units per army.  Altogether, I like to refer to this plan as the 4-ic project plan:

[Log] Battle Masters Knights - Part 1

August 24, 2015 to August 30, 2015 - Hello! This is my first log about what I have been working on since I took a 4 year break from painting. My plan is to post these updates at least on a weekly basis.  This past week, I spent 4 days working on the Lord Knights (3) and Imperial Knights (9) from the 1992 Battle Masters war game. These will be used as a Reiksguard Knights / Knightly Order unit for the Warhammer Fantasy Empire Army.

Base coat for majority of the models completed.