Me, I'm working on some stuff I started last week....mainly the Goblin Champ there in the middle and the Space Ork on the far right. Pay no attention to his base, his is that chunk of rock and mechanical debris. I'm basing the Goblin on a Warmachine/Dark Age base with the lip thing on it (I find them more displayish and splendiferous). And, as I said I have no intention of playing Warhammer, he'd always be a nice mini for Warhammer Quest (another one of those fun GW games that goes well with a good group of friends and beer...and also one I still have interest in playing).

A quick plug here...if you are in the same place as I am with miniature gaming...I suggest looking at the Specialist line of games from GW. While Epic 40K and Warmaster are god awful time hogs, games like Necromunda, Mordheim, Blood Bowl, and Inquisitor are fantastic and fun games that take about an hour...and only require about 8-10 models. I'd plug Warrior Heroes by Two Hour Wargames...but I haven't played it yet...although, it does look like what I had wished Chainmail had been when WotC rereleased it back in 01.

I wish I could say that the Valahallan guy is one of my mains...but alas I have lost a fair chunk of interest in him after finishing his arm and hand. But, I'll probably end up working on him off and on while I work on the other two...trying to do up a nice Valhallan display/diorama thing with an infantry squad and a couple of support vehicles....mainly a Leman Russ and a Leman Russ demolisher (unless I change my mind and do a heretic tank or something).

It still amazes people to this day that I in fact am not a big roleplayer or wargamer. It wasn't always this way...back in high school I played D&D...Battletech...hell even Star Trek. But as the last 20 or so years have gone by, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. I still enjoy reading the settings and fiction for various RPGs and Wargames...the wife and I have quite the Black Library collection going.

But fact of the matter is, every time I play a wargame or RPG I still find myself getting incredibly bored and thinking about other things I could be doing...mainly modelling or painting projects. Not bored of the "world" or "backstory"...bored with waiting around for 30 minutes for something that comprises 45 seconds in "game time"....and believe me, no amount of beer and nachos can help that. Although, I have to admit I still enjoy those quick and fun games like Necromunda and Blood Bowl...I think mainly because of the fun and jocularity that goes along with the simpler "beer and pretzel" styled games.

And so, here I am at a crossroads in life again (you tend to hit them a lot in your 30s I guess). About three months ago I made the decision to stop purchasing anymore "army books", regiment styled box sets, and any sort of updating for "armies" that I have collected in the past. My "armies"...and we are talking like 10-15 of them are becoming collections. I'm preparing to go through all the various box sets and start slapping some stuff on Ebay...(honestly, why have full regiments of Knights Templar or Saurus Warriors if I'm not gonna ever use them in game, not to mention the repetitive painting of the same guys over and over). It also means that I am really going to focus a lot more on models that show a lot of character AND are dynamically posed...another reason to pretty much drop the plastic troop boxes.

So, if you didn't know already there is a GI JOE Movie coming out this summer. To that I say "MEH"....however there was GI JOE Resolute earlier this year which will prove to be the superior GI JOE movie. I really think that the animated movie really captured the spirit of my beloved little plastic action figures of days gone by (no, I didn't have the big ones with hair...I'm not THAT old.). Seriously, check this out and see if it isn't awesome.

To go with my Eisenhorn Library...I'm thinking about doing one for Spheres of Longing as well. In the old project, the reading table was littered with leatherbound editions bearing the Ordo Xenos insignia. This time, I want to add a little more detail and individuality to every item. And if you haven't noticed, the 40k MMO can't get here fast enough for me.

Some preview shots of the latest pieces...the female was meant to be in the Femme Fatale contest...but I forgot the due date and so it never got entered.

Cygnar Mechanic for Warmachine...all in earth tones. He's my favorite from this batch. I tried some subtle shading on the metallics this time out..focusing more on weathering and rust than just a black wash. Honestly, I'm really happy with the metalics and the ochre on the apron. I did do a subtle glow thing too on the rivet gun...but it only reflects on the metal and not on the clothing.


...and an Imperial Grey Ghost for Warzone. I based her to look like she's inflitrated behind Bauhaus' lines on Venus (as signified by the mine/surveillance thing). And that is made from random junk from a tank kit. The main reason I painted her was for a contest and I wanted to enter a Kev White piece, but not a Hasslefree one.

Yet, I'll probably at least end up picking this fella up in the near future. And in case you are wondering, yes....the comic thing totally bombed and I've reconverted my workbench back into my painting area.

So this is a b&w render of my Maya class project from last year....minus all the texturing and the lighting. The plan is that I am gonna give revising it a whirl....a. because there is some really crappy modelling I did in there that needs some fixing...b. I need to brush up on my texturing skillz as I don't do it that often anymore...and c. I'm planning to convert it into an FPS map...probably for UT2004 or Killing Floor....or if I can get the Source/Hammer stuff from Valve to kick in, I'll make it part of a Counter Strike map.

And one fo these days, I'm gonna model me a scene I can use to make a matte painting for miniature photography.

Okay,I should probably point out that I started these at various points over the last couple of months...the barbarian and the Cygnar mechanic being the most recent. I'm gonna try and at least finish the mechanic and the barbarian this weekend...and maybe the pirate gal.

But of all of them, I really am liking the way the mechanic is turning out. Using nothing but earthtones for the bulk of the model and using a turquoise blue for the lenses of his goggles...they even have a little bit of glow going on.

Yes, because I don't usually burnout after the first two minis of any army....but alas, I'm gonna give it a whirl. So this time around I'm going to revisit my first ever ill fated miniature painting project that I call "Mike's Barbarian Army Project". How ill fated was it, well let's just say I started out with a multitude of old Copplestone barbarians from Grenadier in '98 and now I have none of those. In my defense, they were the same 5 guys, just in about 20 packs of minis.

And then the other day I was browsing on Black Tree Design's site and these caught my eye:

And he's only about 38 Euros. Gotta start saving my money!

Apparently, CMoN is doing an annual and asked me to contribute this fellow here. So, I had Eric Johnson, a really nice guy I work with at the office, to photograph a higher res version...and it came out awesome. Seriously, check it out..


And that is the scaled down version...the 300 dpi is about 11 inches tall. Needless to say, I'm gonna be hitting him up for some tips for my own photographic efforts. And keep your fingers crossed that he makes it in...its for minis with scores 8 and up...and he's only an 8.1 so he might be one of the ones that gets omiitted for space.

I have also just completed my first mini for the Wyrd Femme Fatale vs Total Testosterone contest. Very happy with the way the mini came out. Probably won't be able to post that mini until after May, but you can check that mini and many more over on Wyrd's website....

Finally got around to resuming work on my Space Ork army....which has sat in boxes for about 10 years now (my epic space orks have been sitting there for about 12 now...ugh). The orks and me have a wierd type of relationship....they are the first ones that come to mind when I think about painting something for Ebay....yet they are the only thing that I paint that never even gets close to the selling block. Its true....I'll sit down and paint some up...and then remember why I liked them so much in the first place.

ANd honestly, they were the second army I started....pretty much a year after I started on my Chaos Space Marines. And to this date...the score is tied for how many I have painted for each (like 2-2 which is sad...darn you Reaper and your magnificent Dark Heaven line...and you too Rackham).

But stay tuned...I'm going to be hopefully posting some shots of the newer boyz I've painted...and maybe even get around to painting some more grotz as well.

I don't know whether to chop one up for Orkiness....Jungle Camo it up for Catechanosity...or blaspheme it up for Chaositness.

Looks like my heretic Imperial Guard army is getting air support!

I am not 100% excited by the sculpt for her....I think its the face. Very similar to the one Bobby Jackson did for the Battle Nun Leader for Warlord. I had a similar gripe with the newer Death Priest he did...just a very bland and blank face devoid of feeling.

...and if anyone is interested in buying her, just message me. Fifteen bucks US and that includes shipping inside the continental US.

Honestly, the 17th can't get here fast enough. No, it isn't black metal, death metal, or stoner metal....but still, I really like Static X.

Figured I'd work on some stuff to auction off...you know, be an ebay whore again.

So this week I am working on....



Yet another Death/Plague  Priest kinda dude, this one by Bobby Jackson. Usually I really dig his sculpts....but this one kinda has a boring expressionless face. Needless to say, I am painting him up at the moment in the colors of my favorite of the Ruinous Powers, Nurgle. Plus it gives me a way to experiment with colors for my Death Guard guys. But for this guy, I'm trying to use a little green in all the colors on the model...Jakob Nielsen mentioned it in one of his tutorials and I figured what the hell...his advice on using purple ink to shade gold metallics was dead on.

and finishing up one of these for my wife...




I had to search the web for a shot of this model as GW doesn't make it any more. Kinda sucks as this one was of the best generic captain models they've ever done. His proportions aren't so cartoony and he fits any chapter...but alas. I actually picked up this model back in 98 (which is two editions ago) so I'm almost closed my buying to painting gap to a mere 10 years. WOO...actually, its ridiculous. He is for her still in the box and unpainted Blood Angels army (I want to say she has over 2000 points by now).

And NO BACK BANNER. God those are so retarded looking.