Author: Joe B

25mm to 32mm Conversion Ring Review

Published by Joe B

With Games Works change to Space Marine base sizes, I bought a set of Secret Weapon Miniatures 32mm Conversion Ring set to try out. I really like the end result, but the process was a bit of a pain so I figured it might be worth a tutorial post. As with any molded product it is first important to clean off any flash. The rings had a few sections of longer flash like the picture below, but overall were well done. The main area that needed trimming was the bottom edge of each piece so it didn’t interfere with the original base. Next up, I needed to drill out the hole a bit larger as it didn’t seem to be molded deep enough. I found a drill bit that fit within the hole and then used the xacto knife to round out the front edge. The big issue I had with the 32mm conversion rings are that they didn’t fit tightly against the base. To tighten it down a bit I sliced off a small …

Mentor Legion Command Squad WIP

Published by Joe B

I normally don’t like posting work in progress shots as the in between steps can be a bit embarrassing for me. After watching prodigious posters such as Moridan7th or Greggles share every step, it made me more confident to go ahead with my own. So after unpacking the first project I threw my self into was finally working on my Mentor Legion Command Squad. I built these guys up a few years back to leadÂ my ‘side project’ of Mentors into a full blown company. Step One – Primer The models were primed black with white over spray. I have found this to be the best balance between creating deep shadows and being able to paint lighter colors. Step Two – Base Colors Next up all the base colors were blocked in. I like the block-in, wash, highlight steps as they help me see where the model is going and provide nice incentive to finish the model once the wash is in place. The colors I used for each block: Green: Caliban Green White: Pallid Wych …

Tale of Painters How to Paint Death Company

Good Reads 6 with a focus on painting tutorials

Published by Joe B

Now that moving is settling down and Nurgle’sÂ plague has ravaged our house, I can get back to posting up some great blog articles I have found around the net. This week I’m trying something a bit different. Rather than using justÂ posts from the last week I’ve been gathers themÂ into different categories on Trello such as the one here for painting tutorials. I’m hoping this does two things: reduces the stress on me to post every week, and provide more focused reading for my readers. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Let’s start off with Tale of Painters‘ How to Paint Blood Angles Death Company. Stahly has a great, very in depth tutorial on how he painted his Death Company marines. Black can be deceptively difficult to paint so his tutorial is helpful for any black armored soldier. Next up Adam on Sprue Grey has a great tutorial on painting his Farseer. Not only does Adam give some great tips on painting the robes and free-hand designs, he also provides some background …

Tyranid Broodlord of Hive Fleet Behemoth

Published by Joe B

So one of the main selling points of Games Workshop’s limited edition Deathstorm box set was the special edition Broodlord. Much like the one in the Space Hulk box, this guy is huge and way cooler looking than the old metal model. He is painted up for Hive Fleet Behemoth to go along with the other monsters from beyond the stars on my shelf. I think the dark red skin gives him a kind of bloody rage which is in contrast to the cool blues of his carapace. The base was one of the first of the new, smaller oval bases that GW put out to mess with all of us, but I like it. It fits the model much better than trying to fit it on a 40mm circle base and helps emphasis his movement forward in a way. Another cool aspect of this Broodlord is the Tyranid Spire he is leaping off of. Not only does it give this impressively huge genestealer more height but it adds more to the story of the …

Cool Tools: Wet Palette

Published by Joe B

A tool you will hear from many different painters in our hobby is the mighty wet palette. As much as it sounds like the start of some juvenile joke, a wet palette is simple a container holding a sponge with a paper materialÂ sitting on top. The sponge is kept full of water which keeps the paper moist, and in turn keeps the paint sitting on the paper moist. The theory is that you can use the paper as your pallet and it will stay usable as long as the sponge stays wet. Using a Wet Palette Using a wet palette isn’t too different than using a normal palette in the sense you take your paint out of the pot/tube and place it on the palette. The difference is first wetting the sponge with a nice bath of water, enough to make the sponge soggy but not so much that you have free standing water in your container. The paper material is then placed on top and allowed to soak. It is often advisable to flip …

Traitor Guard Command Company

Published by Joe B

At the very twisted heart of the Traitor Guard is the Command Company. From here the villainous orders can be issued forth and enemy armies sundered. — lets get real here, the IG Command Company squad is an extremely fragile piece of work, they usually ride around in their Chimera issuing orders and avoiding getting shot, but they look darn cool doing it. To keep the ride moving, and because who doesn’t like AdMech we have Dark Mechanicus Tech Priest joining the team. Whats great about the Ad Mech guys is that they already look really sinister, so just adding a simple chaos star servo skull was all that was needed. I added some object source lighting on both his front facing lamp and the glowing energy source on his back. Another sinister looking model with very little work needed was this Inquisitor model turned company commander. In fact they only thing I did was remove the [==|==] from his chest. Clearly he isn’t a very good what-you-see model, as the IG can’t just upgrade …

Painting a Large Base for the Tyranid Carnifex

Published by Joe B

Another exciting tutorial for your reading and learning pleasure. This time I go through the steps of painting a large base, in particular, the large oval base the Games Workshop provided in the Deathstorm box set for the Tyranid Carnifex. So, unfortunately, I didn’t grab a before paint shot, but I used an old cork coaster to create some rock clusters around the base, including two that I planned to have the Carnifex mounted on. I then applied the great Elmer’s Glue in large splotches to apply the rest of the rock texture. I intentionally left a few areas bare of grit to create water areas. Painting the Base Layers The base was then primed with the rest of the models before given a nice heavy coat ofÂ Steel Legion Drab. A dry brush ofÂ Skrag Brown and then Ushabti Bone followed suit to provide the rock areas with a nice verity of colors and textures. The idea is to leave some of the base colors a bit thicker in some areas than others. The water areas …

Canvas – or a New Painting Experience

Published by Joe B

So while I am still working on the whole move thing and haven’t set up my desk, the Mrs. and I went to a local paint-and-sip called Canvas. For those who haven’t heard of these, they are a mix of group painting lessons and drinking. For both of us this was the first time painting on a full-on canvas and I must admit, it was a bit intimidating to think we would paint anything like their examples in only 2 hours. Its crazy to think after all the models I have painted that creating something on an empty white sheet would be so different, but there is just something about it that makes it so very different. The instructor/artist was great though. She took us through each step with examples of the specific colors and style to use. The painting we were doing was called ‘The Storm’ and the very first thing we did to take the virginity of the canvas was a nice large area of blue for the sky. Whites were mixed in …

Cool Tools: Acrylic Paint Retarder

Published by Joe B

Following up on the importance of thinning your paints with airbrush medium, how do you keep the paints wet long enough to work on a large project? I was struggling with this on a hot summer day a few years back and posed that same question to my readers. The two solutions that were provided wasÂ a wet pallet and paint retarder. Today I use both options, the wet pallet if I’m painting at the desk or doing blending and the paint retarder when using a standard pallet on the couch. You add a drop or two to your mix and it significant increases the drying time of the paint. This keeps the paint on the pallet usable for longer stints without having to rewet the paint. I have also used it to help with wet blending – though admittedly I am still working on this skill. Since the drying time is increased, you have more time to add the additional colors and work them together. A bottle of the Liquitex brand is onlyÂ $10 on Amazon …

Tyranid Warriors of Hive Fleet Behemoth

Published by Joe B

Next up from the Deathstorm box is the three Tyranid Warriors. This is the second Tyranid Warriors brood that I’ve painted, with the firstÂ being armed with scything talons and death spitters, I decided to give this squad a venom cannon andÂ devourers for shooting, and bone swords and lash whips for close range. I really like the new Tyranid Warriors kit with all the great weapon options, it was actually a bit difficult to decide on what to go with. I liked the idea of the bone swords for marine killingness and the lash whips give an interesting look as well. TheÂ devourers were just because they looked cool and were different from the death spitters in the other squad. I based these just like the Carnifex, using bark to add some rock formations and leaving bare spots on the base for water areas. I think it adds a nice green organic contrast to the alien blue and red. It also helped that the bases used in the Deathstorm box were a bit bigger than the typical …

Cool Tools: Airbrush Medium

Published by Joe B

One of the tips that nearly every Intro to Painting starts with is: thin your paints. It makes sense, the paint pots are fairly thick for one reason or another and painting straight onto your mini can create a thick coat, covering fine details. So what does everyone do? They add a drop or two of water, stir it in and make it work. When GW introduced theÂ Lahmian Medium technical paint it opened a whole new world for me in terms of thinning paints, without making them watery. Adding a bit of medium would dilute the pigment a bit, but wouldn’t turn the paint into a watery, uncontrollable soupy mess. After using up my first pot of the medium I released that $4 for a little little 12ml bottle would quickly kill my painting budget. I then found a bottle of acrylic matte medium at a local painting store and thought I hit the jackpot. It only cost a few bottles of Lahmian but was way bigger. I quickly realized though that artistÂ matte medium is …

Traitor Guard Armored Sentinel Squad

Published by Joe B

I admit it, I’m a tread head and a star wars geek, so when I was building up my Traitor Guard, not only did I fill it with a bunch of tanks, but had to add at least a couple of Sentinels. So here isÂ myÂ Traitor Guard Armored Sentinel squad armed with plasma cannons. I built up the bases using extra bitsÂ and sprue then filled in the bumps with plaster with a final layer of gravel on top. Conversions were fairly simple. The eagles on the front were cut off,Â and a chaos star was bent around the front of one and two Chaos Vehicle plates were added to the front of the other. With a bit of green stuff, I also added a bit of demonic presence to the one. With a bit of green stuff, I also added a bit of demonic presence to the one. Since sentinels are a bit taller than the tanks, the orange to red transition was a bit longer and by the time it got to the feet, they were …