Still here, seeking relics...

   Still here!  Sorry for the absence- I've been really focused on work (a growing company working on taking over an entire market!) and just haven't had a strong focus in any one game during off-time.  I still do the hobby thing and even squeeze in a contest once in a while, especially with my peer group- my brother finally got into 40k and started up a Blood Angels army, while my son has been focused on 3d printing (where I've backed projects and forced him to be my production center) and my wife has been slapping some paint on non-gamer models.  But none of it had the 'draw' for me to sit down and make a post.  

  In fast, Google has already tried to shut down this blog-site once for inactivity and I'm trying to avoid that again.  More, I actually (finally) found something to get excited about and wanted to blog about it!  Last year, I went to a little convention known as Reapercon and decided to fish out a new game to distract from the rest of my ridiculous collection.  This is where I ran into something I'd already seen years before and just wasn't interested, but fate knows the 'call-back' technique and sometimes uses it.  I like painting models (well, I like it enough anyway, but at least I'm good at it) and I love being part of a new thing- at the ground-floor, one of the "first adopters", being part of it before it's so-called 'cool', and this reappearance definitely presented that opportunity.  That's right- I have a word count...  (IYKYK)

  This game first popped up as a very successful crowd-funding project that had a poor reception for a number of post-production reasons that weren't limited to communication, logistics, quality, or even consistency.  But it did have a novel concept and enough of a following to not disappear completely.  A big-dog (I don't remember if he's one of the original creators or just a super-fan or what) reached out to an experienced game designer to re-work it and bring the project to life again, and I'm here for it.  The models are actually quite good (both the old and new- completely different materials and designs though) and the rules are very fast.  In fact, the whole game is so novel that it didn't even require dice- my arch-nemesis!  It is set in a sci-fi universe with fantasy elements carried on an 'anime'-aesthetic, and only made this come-back in 2025.  The game is called Relic Knights.

  I have to spread these posts out a bit, so I'm not going to go into the game-play aspects and certainly not the background (I actually don't know the 'fluff' since the online resources are poor and I don't own any of the old stuff), but I have been taking the opportunity to paint models and even work on some new techniques.  In this case, I'm just going to show off the models.  I have a very common style when painting miniatures as I'm a student of the "Citadel System" from the very first introduction of it (like I said- I dig starting at the beginning!), but I wanted to spread my wings a bit and try some stuff. 

  I'm used to that aforementioned approach of 'base, shade, highlight', often involving copious amounts of wash and singular lines of accents with brighter colours- ideally drawing your eye to the detail and not the lighting or aspect/pose.  GW models are high-detail and meant to really impress based on bringing all that out with layers and line-highlighting.  That system is easy and effective and anyone can get great results following it.  In the interest of breaking away from that very system, I tried to get the airbrush involved, applied zenithal principles, tested out Contrast paints, concentrated on highlights and placement, and even dusted off the old non-metallic technique once or twice.  It's been some time and my equipment is not the highest quality which means that I'm not always ecstatic with the results, but I'm very happy overall.  It's the uniqueness and overall aesthetic of these models that really allowed for that artistic expression more than the GW style and I had a bit of fun with it.  Check 'em out:

Radiant Faction (the good guys)

Void Faction (the bad guys)

  I did try to do some editing with backgrounds and effects and all that, but it wasn't working on some of the pictures, so I just posted them raw.  This is also part of the 'learning process'- I recently got a computer powerful enough to do all that stuff and have no idea how to use it!!!  These models are an absolute blast to paint and the opportunity for growth in skills is awesome.  I'm finding the experience fun and my wife even enjoys this one (I think she might even mean it this time!), so I strongly suggest it.  These models and the cards needed to play can be ordered here- give it a go!  If you just happened to be at Reapercon this year, I'm hoping to have a table set up as well- obviously, let me know if you read my blog- I know there's only two of you...  And I will, of course, start posting about this game (sooner or later).

As always- Happy Hobbying!

Decals...

   I've never been a fan of decals.  From the mythical days of my childhood and building model cars and airplanes to the current times of retired professional, I just never had good luck with them.  Waterslide transfers, or decals, just never 'do it' for me.  I don't like the way they leave the border, the way they shine against the matte model body, or the way they look too 'clean' compared to a hand-paint job.  But I want to use them as I have hundreds of sheets of them lying around.  But they never work out and I just default to freehanding (which I am talented enough, just not motivated).  

  But I decided to paint up an old tank for my Chaos Marines and figured to do some research and give the pro methods a try.  Flat surfaces (Space Marine shoulder pads are the bane of decals!) make for good learning.  And, as promised in the post about that tank, the attempt would make a great post for later!  So after watching others' videos and reading their blogs on the process, I found that I wasn't far off- the process hasn't changed much in 40 years!  

  As with any hobby project, you have to first gather the materials.  For this, you will need a small tub or cup of warm water (they're called 'waterslide transfers' for a reason), a small paintbrush (I used a new 'layer'-sized brush), paper towels, a set of tweezers, a sharp hobby knife, the decals (of course), and a couple of products from the interwebs- 

  Once you have all those materials and some calming music playing in the background (I tend to enjoy some Bach or Mozart, or early Metallica), it's time to begin the fun.  The first step is to coat the area of the model with gloss varnish (or 'ardcoat in this case).  Be sure to use quite a bit of water in the varnish as the goal is to make a very smooth surface.  While that varnish is drying, cut out the decals (as close to the image as possible) and drop them into the warm water.  

I cut out the decals and staged them 

Applied 'ardcoat to all the target areas...

And started dropping decals into the water.

  As the decals are slowly washing off their sheets, and obviously well after the 'ardcoat has dried completely (I rushed this and I'm not confident that it didn't have an effect), brush some Micro-set onto the area.  This vinegar-smelling chemical is a very weak adhesive and allows the decal to cling to the surface better.  Then, remove the decal from the water with the tweezers and, using a paintbrush, slide the decal from its sheet onto the surface that you'd like it to go.  

Lay down the 'set...

slide the transfer/decal to the area...

and adjust as needed until the decal is placed perfectly.

  Once the decal is placed on the model where it's meant to go, use a paper towel to gently smash it into the surface.  This is to flatten the decal, remove the excess water and Microset, and push out air bubbles.  If the decal is being placed on a rounded or irregular surface, this may still leave folds and bubbles as the flat decal doesn't fit well.  This is where that sharp knife may be necessary to cut some micro-slits, but that needs a video to show.  Otherwise, applying the other 'micro'- the Microsol, will help as this chemical slowly melts the decal.  There is a risk that the image may be faded off, but focus the brush with Microsol around the edges and any folds in the center.

So much 'feathering'...

  Once the decal is completely dry and fits on the area it's supposed to, go back and slather gloss varnish over it again.  This is to 'fill the edges' as well as seal the decal onto the model.  As warned before, be sure that the decal and chemicals are all dried as the effectiveness could be lessoned if you move too quick (ask me how I know...).  

And slather the 'ardcoat again!

  This post is wholly motivated by my Predator tank and the attempt at this stuff again.  Therefore, pics of said tank and the placement of all the decals must be shown:

I even 'stacked' the decals for this one!

  Once all of everything is dry and the decals are solid and set, it is time for the final step.  At this point, spray the entire model with matt varnish (I used the Munitorum stuff from GW)- this will 'flat' all the shiny decals and join the texture to the rest of the model.  Be sure, of course, to retouch anything that was supposed to be shiny with 'ardcoat after- those headlights got me!

  I haven't taken any pictures of the end result because I'm not a fan of the final result.  All of the reasons that I don't like decals, as listed above, still showed.  Now, I have to give credit in that the decals did fit quite a bit better than past attempts and they are certainly sealed in (I did the chip-corner test and nothing moved!), so there was some obvious success.  But the glossiness still showed and many of the decals still had 'edges'.  This could be because I rushed much of the process and didn't have the patience for the results, and it could be that I'm VERY paranoid with spray varnish as I don't want to ruin a good paint job with the fog (PS- that's what happened to the Termie Lord you see above- I'm a little upset by that), so I always go too light.  

  Overall, I'm certainly closer to conquering the decal-life, but I'm still not a pro at it at all.  Through trial-and-error shall I learn this, so what will my next victim be...

Happy Hobbying!

Annihilator in red!

 

  I have been 'flitting' between games and armies in 40k lately, being too busy and stressed to focus on any one thing.  But I still needed to justify my insane investments, so something had to get some paint.  My brother was excited to build a couple of units to add to his Combat Patrol, and I decided I would do the same.  Plus, my Combat Patrol disappoints me and NEEDS some additions, and a tank is always a good choice in my mind.  

  This particular model has been in my collection for a long time.  I acquired it from someone years and years ago and it was painted so poorly that it sat in a bitz-box, nearly forgotten.  Then, many editions ago, I dug it (and a ton of Destructor bits to build- the sequel to this one, planned for some point in the future) out and realized (again) that it needed severe attention.  With the addition of skulls, spikes, and stars, I emptied a can of Mephiston Red spraypaint (or airbrushed it- I really don't remember after all this time) and turned it into a usable unit for my Chaos Marines.  I must've played this model (despite being annoyed by the unmoving lascannons and ungainly weight distribution of metal with thin plastic) a hundred times by now, but never got around to just painting it.  Now it is time...

Basecoat all metal bits with Iron Warrior- my favorite silver base colour right now.

Basecoat all 'weird' areas black- remember that this is a rogue-trader era model!

Wash all of the areas with Nuln Oil, of course.

Some bone on the skulls, some yellow in the headlights, and it's playable!

I taught my bro how to 'gem' on these easier, flat surfaces.  He got it!

Line in all the panel-breaks and inside corners with Khorne Red and black mix to add more detail

Ah, line highlighting black...

So many options, and I eventually just chose the basic 'black' for the casing and cowlings.

Time for the blue lascannon glow- start with Corax White basecoat,

wash heavily with a blue wash,

and then just highlight the coils.  Not great, but done!

Always gotta remember to highlight the skulls!

  Here's where things got fun- I spent a couple of hours (spread over all day) painting all the red, silver, and black details but now I needed to add markings to really make it stand out!  I was more excited about the addition of decals than I was painting, so the quality of my paintwork isn't the best (nor rarely is, to be fair).  I'll have another post about how I worked on those decals...

DONE!

  After a couple of decades (at least), this model is finally finished and useable like I'd prefer.  This is a 'Deimos' pattern Predator, reflecting the ancient stockpile of the renegades.  The veterans of the long war would not have new equipment kicking about, so they'll be extra dependent on the old stuff.  My son described it as 'tiny' and a 'block of red'- success!  It is smaller than the current scale (not by enough to affect gameplay) and is certainly very red.  

Happy Hobbying!

Zeus is Steiner

   The Lyran Commonwealth has the credits to fill their armies with 'mechs, even if not the most skilled 'warriors.  One of the most commonly-seen battlemechs is the mighty Zeus, so I felt compelled to add one to my first lance.  While I've never used one or even considered it, this war machine looks cool and, with some colour added, I think I may have to add this to my games.  In any case, here's the work:

base blue on the left 2/3

wash with dark blue to bring out the details

drybrush with a lighter blue to smooth out the wash

now paint the remaining third with a light gray

paint weapons black

paint weapons and joints silver, right over the black!

wash the metal with black wash to darken and detail it

line highlight the blue

line highlight the light gray

line highlight the black casings

highlight the silver on the weapons and joints

  And that's it!  Painting 'mechs is always a 'cheat code' for accomplishing anything for the hobby.  And big, beefy mechs like the Zeus are a joy to finish.  

Happy Hobbying!