27 May 2007

Trials of the gesso, part 2

This time around, I mixed the gesso with a variety of 'additives'.


This is a victim of another one of my brainstorms. Recipe: 4 drops white gesso, 1 drop Reaper Master Series Brush-on primer, 2 drops 5% Flow-Aid. I thought the primer in the mix would help, but the bubbles remained. The figure is a 25mm GZG Kra'Vak (please note that GZG is in no way responsible for this mess!).




These two are much better. Recipe: 4 drops white gesso, 1 drop Delta Ceramcoat black, 2 drops 5% Flow-Aid. There is still a bit of bubbling, but it is rather minor. The grey color is nice; it reminds me of the first minis I painted - GHQ micro-armour. At that time I was using Floquil enamels... awesome coverage, but I'm certain that the odor would knock me flat nowadays. (2 more GZG Kra'Vak)


Success?!? Recipe: 5 drops white gesso, 1 drop Delta Ceramcoat black, 3 drops 5% Flow-Aid. This one came out nicely, no bubbling. (I do wonder how of much of that is technique versus mixture.) The coating seems to retain the paint-holding texture and the detail-saving shrinkage of gesso, and I can easily cope with the grey. (25mm GZG New Israeli [I think?] )

Right now, I'm pleased with this recipe.


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25 May 2007

Enfilade 2007

Today is the start of Enfilade this year. Enfilade is one of the best miniature conventions around, and we are not going to be there this year.

Although we made this decision months ago, it is still sad to not be able to attend.

The money it took for the three of us to attend last year is being used for needed items around the home, and miniatures of course.

Hopefully, somebody there will post pics that are not locked up within a Yahoogroup, and I'll cross-link to them here.


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12 May 2007

A bit of housecleaning...

Not much time today... I'm adding a few new features to the blog. On the left you will notice some new lists, and I am going to try and update all of my previous entries with tags. I am also thinking of starting up a photohosting site. Any recommendations?


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08 May 2007

More Serqu pics

My surprise over the Empire army box has subsided somewhat, so here are some pics of the Legion of Serqu's troops:




Again, three different poses, with a female trooper on the left. These troops have their spear either at a 45 degree angle or upright, versus the leveled pose of some of the Ever-Present Glory troops. Also note the interesting shield for Serqu.


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06 May 2007

When it rains, it pours...

I'm not quite certain that I've ever had luck like this.

Taeklonn went off to a special Game Day at his local GW store yesterday. There was a big raffle of some kind, and of course gaming. At the end of it all, he had won two things: the Mines of Moria box set for Lord of The Rings, and this:


The grand prize of the raffle!

And he gave it to me, as a late birthday gift !!!

I now have just scads of minis to paint...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SON !


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02 May 2007

THEY ARE HERE !!

My first Tekumel miniatures have arrived!


Fresh out of the box. They were well-packaged (note the bubble-wrap), and in labeled bags.



Here is the First Legion of Ever-Present Glory, showing all of the troops but only some of the shields and plumage. All of the rank-and-file troops have shields.


These are the command figures, along with one of the spearman poses.







Close-ups of the minis... note the lack of flash. There are some mild mold lines and mold vents. The bottom of the bases are rather flat also, which is a very good thing!


The three different spear poses, with the one of the left being female.





And, two close-ups of the Legion of Serqu. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that in addition to the fancy spearhead and shield that comes with each Serqu trooper, they also have a sword and a mace.

Wow, I'm impressed! I promise more pictures later, but now I need to try and dig up bases for these minis and get to work!


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01 May 2007

Trials of the gesso

I had mentioned that I tried to prime some minis with gesso, and here are some pics:



This guy came out a bit bubbly. Maybe it has something to do with the gesso going over paint, I don't know.



Notice the uneven coating of the scroll and the hair. I think I'm going to try diluting the gesso slightly.

More info on using gesso is here at Hyun's WeeToySoldiers - link

Last but not least, a shot of the table:


Almost unnaturally clean, isn't it? Remember those tank traps from way back when? They are the one and only 'terrain project' on the table, and there is one group of Tau there as well.

How long will it stay this neat?!?



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