Weekend Plans

Well another weekend another painting session. I plan on finishing the two orcs I started last week. As I posted earlier, I'm pretty bad about picking one project to concentrate on and sticking to it until it's finished. I'd like to paint up a good force of orcs to do battle against my friend's Minas Tirith army, so that will probably be the immediate goal.

I'm also waiting for the new Blood Angels for 40K, but then again I've got Imperial Guard to work on! You get the idea.

I'll get some pictures up of my work desk and hopefully have some new minis to show case.

Thanks!

Armored Knight

Here's my next miniature, an armored night wielding a large two-handed sword. This was an easy paint job obviously, he's all armored up and I went for the usual silver/wash/drybrush. I am trying to get into my "flow" so I'm not taking on the most difficult miniatures around!
















I also started two of my LOTR orcs. I'm trying to do these guys in a more "assembly line" style. Basic colors, wash, highlight, wash again. They're WIPs, I'll show the finished project when done.

Thanks!

Time is of the essence

Well, it seems the biggest hurdle to my painting is that elusive element we never seem to get enough of... time!

I'll be hitting the painting table again, maybe tonight but definitely tomorrow. I've got some more Reaper fantasy figures I've decided to paint (sorry LOTR) in an effort to continue some fantasy gaming I've had with my friend. We're trying to develop a game system we've been running a while (mostly in our heads!) that incorporates a single die roll and takes into account a model's weapons, armor, and any special rules or abilities. Obviously we want to keep this simple, as complex rules are not conducive to quick, fluid games.

And, as we know, time is of the essence!

I'm not sure anybody reads this blog, once I get more stuff up I'll "advertise" a little on some of my favorite forums.

For starters I'd like to refer you to one of the best and active forums for miniature painting and wargaming around: Lead Adventure!

http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php

First mini down

And to tell you the truth, I'm not happy with the results... at all. I changed my mind and painted a "Conan" figure instead of the Orc. I've considered myself a "fair" painter with an idea of how to highlight, shade, drybrush, you know, the basics. Unfortunately, after many years of non-painting my first figure has turned out, well, bland?















In reality there is more definition than meets the eye. My wife has a VERY nice digi-camera, but unfortunately I take horrid pictures.

So, poor painting and a bad picture... well you be the judge.

On a positive note, I've got the itch, and nothing like practice to make one better. Next up? More fantasy goodies, including that Orc I picked out to paint in the first place!

Preparing for the big day

Well the weekend is here, and it's going to be time to paint. I've got a fairly busy work week, and have two young children who DEMAND attention. I am, of course, happy to oblige, but must wait until the later hours before I've got "alone" time.

I'm setting up a desk in the garage where I'll do the painting and have some music and sufficient light for working.

That being said, I've always enjoyed seeing people's work areas, so I'll make sure I get a photo of mine if there's anybody interested in that sort of thing.

Let's see what Sunday brings, hopefully the spark of weekend painting will inspire me!

Wow, scatterbrained... too many projects!

Hello again,

I've got soooo many miniatures, and so many different projects I don't know where to start. Aside from the Orc I've chosen as my first miniature, I don't know where to go from there.

In no particular order:

LOTR- many different factions
40K- IG, Inquisition (Witch Hunters), Chaos, Blood Angels
Fantasy- Tons of great minis from Reaper, Mordheim, Hasselfree
Colonial- Force Publique, Natives, NW Frontier
Vietnam
Other odds and ends

Whew, how does one choose where to start?

The first mini has been chosen!

The chosen one is an orc archer from Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings set. I've got a bunch of the miniatures, and it's a nice system. I reached into my "primed and unpainted pile" and found Mr. Orc Archer.

I'll get a picture of him up, and will be working on some different skin tones for my orc horde. I'm not a fan of the green, I'm thinking something dark gray or darkbrown/reddish will work well.

Cheers!

Colonial musings

The majority of the painted miniatures I own are from the wonderful Darkest Africa line by Wargames Foundry. I've based most of my miniatures on American pennies, but I think a change to some washers will be better. I've got a load of figures in the pipe line, mostly "characters". I also plan to get some more tribesmen and maybe some Arabs ready. I use the Sword and the Flame rules, which have stood the test of time and are very playable.

Introductions, about the name, and plans

Miniatures Motivation:

This is a hobby based blog about painting, collecting, and gaming with miniatures. I've been living vicariously through the dozens (hundreds? thousands?!) of gaming blogs and forums I follow on a regular basis. These include hobby based forums, wargame groups, photo sites, and blogs.

Miniatures: The wonderful figures, made of lead, pewter or plastic, that I keep buying and rarely paint.

Motivation: The hope that I can move from behind a computer screen to in front of the hobby desk.

A view from the bottom of the mountain: The pile of lead is tall, and fraught with danger. Will I be able to focus long enough to get something done?

Areas of interest: I love GW (please don't boo me now!) and especially 40K. There are lots of problems with the company, which have been discussed ad ad nauseam on other web sites, but I'm still a fan. I enjoy and collect 40K, and I think that Mordheim and LOTR are two of the finest games available. I also wargame and collect colonial, generic fantasy (huge REH fan), and vietnam miniatures.

Thanks for looking if you did, I hope this is a motivator for me, and maybe someone else will start to tackle their own lead mountain!