Ick

The Sept. 30 challenge is not going well. I have found little time or energy for painting. *sigh*

This is ridiculous

I haven't painted in MONTHS!

I need to break this cycle. To do this, I am setting myself some goals. Much like the eponymous project of this blog, these goals will need a deadline. So here we go:

• I will complete the GW Dark Elves and the last few Ultramarines I have from the Macragge box by September 30. 
• I will paint my Alpha Legion CSMs by October 31.

Let's see how that goes. If I find I am making good progress, I might add a Hirst Arts goal too.

A different kind of gaming table.

It's an old IKEA coffee table we've had for years. We had painted the stencil patterns back when we bought it. A little while ago I added the vinyl checkerboard sticker (from eBay) and vinyl letters (for algebraic notation). Then I covered it with a few coats of polyurethane.

The chess pieces are cheap plastic knockoffs of the Anri King Arthur set. The little queens to the side are spares for pawn promotion and the discs are wooden checkers. The table and these pieces are more to be kid-proof. I have a roll up mat and some 3x weighted Stauntons (tournament style) too. What I don't know is why I bother since with multiple chess sets I am such a pathetic player.

A half orc and a dark elf walk into a bar...

OK not really, but here are some recently finished items. A Dark Elf champion from the old GW box set I've been sporadically working on, and a half orc shaman from Reaper I just speed painted. Enjoy!

woops! (SBH vid)

I accidentally deleted the previous post of this, so I'm re-posting here.

Sacrificial Captive pics

From the Reaper DHL#3312. I set the ring and victim on some 1" fieldstone Hirst tiles.

 

Back in business

The shelves and table are re-assembled. I actually finished a couple minis that had been languishing to celebrate (pics forthcoming). Nothing fancy, just a GW dark elf and this Reaper "bound victim" piece that came with some cultists (DHL# 3312). I had finished the cultists figs long ago to go with a 9-pack of Darkthralls. Because, who doesn't need a bunch of robed cultist minis, honestly? The DTs + 2 acolytes and a necromancer figure like Leisynn? You got yerself a cabal, baby!

My Labyrinth Lord Night's Dark Terror game is winding down. The PCs are nearly through the module. It's been a lot of fun (I love B10), but I think I'm going to let someone else take the screen for a while. I'm also hoping it frees some time for painting and scenery. Also, now that the warmer weather is here, if the humidity will die down, it'll be easier to get figs primed and/or spray varnished.

I'd also love to get a chance to get back into Song of Blades and Heroes again, plus try the new Tales of Blades and Heroes RPG. We shall see!

Kaboom

We're getting a new washing machine delivered, and to get it through the basement, my painting table had to be disassembled and all the stuff on its shelves had to be stacked on my gaming table.

Sigh

Andrea from Ganesha Games gets interviewed

An interesting read.

http://politicaldice.6sided.net/2012/03/05/the-blessings-of-ganesha-games-be-upon-you/

Shoatima Pics

As promised, here they are. The water was varnished with brush-on gloss after the matte spray finish dried. The eyes and tongue got some gloss, too.

Finished something!

Shoatima is done (except for sealing)! Very pleased to get this completed. Pics to follow soon(ish).

Otters and Blocks

Spent a chunk of this weekend working on Shoatima and casting Hirst blocks. I want to build up a goodly stock of the water cavern pieces so I can make some modular caves.

Casting the blocks is great to work on when you can just work an assembly line.  I got a new mixing bowl from MicroMark that's made of flexible rubber. When the remaining plaster is dry, I just crunch it up and dump it out. It works way better than disposable plastic cups. My usual method is to spread an old shower curtain on top of the gaming table as a drop cloth, then line up a half dozen or so molds. I cast them all at once and –an hour or so later– pop out them out and set in a cheapo food dehydrator to dry overnight. The next day, I repeat the process. At the end of a week or so, you can have a surprising amount of tiles and blocks for building.

Since tonight is gaming night, I'll need to clear stuff off, but with luck I'll be able to continue the process tomorrow.

2012?! How'd that happen?!

Well, I haven't been painting a lot in the last month or so what with the holidays, etc. I will be trying to rectify things in the coming weeks. The GW Dark Elves are still on the table, so I think the next order of business is to push on through with them. I also need to finish Shoatima before Garycon.