Quarterly Review

I've been looking at how I use my hobby time this year, and trying a different approach. I'm choosing small, discreet mini projects and interspersing them with my 'Palette Cleansers', randomly selected Reaper Bones minis. I'm deliberately switching topics each time I start a mini project, there may be an overall theme, and I'll return to themes, often to paint another unit, but I'm never doing the same thing from mini project to mini project.

There are several reasons why I've chosen this approach, it stops me obsessing too much on one thing to the point of burn-out and the thought of a new project can sometimes give me the impetus to finish the current one. There's no room for part finished abandoned stuff in this system.

In many ways it's similar to the Five Box System I used previously, but it became too easy to leave a box, meaning to get back to it, but never quite doing so. Either something shinier came along, or I lacked the motivation to complete. The Trident Realm is a great example of this.

I hope to return to the Five Box system later this year but I'm not ready for it yet.

So how has my new approach worked? 

Ten 28mm Star Wars minis

Eleven Reaper Bones minis (some of which were completed rather than painted up from scratch)

Twenty nine 20mm Star Wars minis and three Tatooine style buildings

Twenty three Space Orcs

Whilst this isn't much compared to some (Bodvoc is churning out many more over on The War Crow, and the phenomenal Eric the Shed clearly has superhuman painting speed), it's pretty good for me. I've also kept a fairly constant pace, managing to get some painting done every week. Most importantly, I've been enjoying it again so I'm definitely sticking with this approach for now.

I've got another 20mm Tatooine building to finish, a bit fancier this time, along with more scatter terrain, and I've begun the next Palette Cleanser. After that I'm not sure. Perhaps some fantasy? 

Small Scale Rebels for Fistful of Lead/Galactic Heroes

I painted some 20mm Imperials back in February, so I thought it was time to do some opposition for them.  I've managed to scour evilbay for some more of the 20mm Star Wars stuff, so I'm quite excited about this.

I should say that since I painted the Imps Merlin and I discussed how we are going to use the Star Wars minis we have.  We have decided to singly base the 20mm minis as well as the 28mm, this way we can use them for Galactic Heroes, but also for Bigger Battles, a version of Fistful of Lead with squads rather than individual minis.  We should have, between us, enough for some quite significant battles, which is what drew me to using this scale in the first place.  I'll rebase my Imps soon*.

I began with some of the heroes from the 'Classic Heroes' set, Luke, Han, the droids and Chewie.  The paint jobs on these varies, The droids are OK, Luke is pretty poor.  I'm not a big fan of the crouching poses either, but they'll do.  3PO had a wash with Army Painter Flesh Wash and his leg painted Vallejo Game Color Chainmail Silver, R2 simply had a couple of washes of VGC Grey Wash to bring out the panelling and make him look a bit less pristine.  The rest had a full repaint.  I don't think I've got Chewie quite red-brown enough, but I'm pleased with how Luke and Han came out.  I've also painted a Rebel Pilot.  As he is just standing, looking about and holding his helmet I thought he might do as an objective.

Brave heroes of the Rebellion

Then on to the troops.  I used a pack of nine Rebel Fleet Troopers, and added another Rebel Pilot o fill the rebels out to two crews of five. Each set of the infantry contains 9 minis in four poses.  The Rebel Fleet Troopers are all armed with Rebel Blasters, no heavy weapons among them, so I decided to convert a couple of minis.  I used various bits of plastic tubing and plasticard to make both the heavy blaster and the rocket launcher.  They are a bit crude and out of scale, but I think they'll do, at least until I get better plastic tubing.

Two crews of rebels

 

I painted them to match my 28mm Rebel Fleet Troopers and chose the chap holding his helmet to be a squad leader, so gave him a tan uniform.  This is possibly a bit too dark, next time I'll go lighter.

I think en-mass they look fine, and I'm glad to have two crews with plenty of options for heroes as well.  The droids are mostly likely going to be scenario specific objectives.

*I've rebased my Imps now, so here are all the 20mm Star Wars minis and terrain pieces I've finished to date.

Building Tatooine in 20mm Part 2

I've finished another two buildings very much in the Tatooine style. These were slightly more complex than the last two (seen here) and I had a couple of false starts and pauses along the way.

They actually began as one building. I'd seen an octagonal building on a blog somewhere, but couldn't remember exactly where. My Shifting Lands multi corner cutter has the option to cut octagons so I just made it up as I went along.  However, it seemed wrong, I didn't like the way the doors attached to the building and I felt that the dome was too small and the walls too high.  Nothing seemed in scale. So I pulled the doors off and cut the main block in half. I tried to prise the small dome off, but only succeeded in tearing a chunk out of it.

Pause (I wish I'd got a picture of the building to show how wrong it looked)

I then found some more images of Tatooine buildings and used the Lars farmstead as inspiration. I used a larger dome, set the door alcoves into the main building using kitchen foil inner tubes as an arch and scraps of XPS for the sides.  I was much happier with it.

I was going to throw the other half away, but then decided to use it as a ruin. I have some 20mm Tusken Raiders, so I'm sure a ransacked farmstead would be useful. All I did was cut a section out to look like the entrance had been destroyed.

 

The second pause was after I'd applied some texture. I tried to mix the same sort of stuff as I used on the last buildings, but it came out looking too rough. OK, perhaps, for larger scales, but not right for 20mm. Eventually I gave them a second coat of just filler and PVA glue, which looked much better.

Moff Forescale inspects the damage done to one of the buildings.  Tusken Raiders or Rebels?

Painting was straightforward. The texture is still a bit rough, but it will do.

I added some bits around the bases as Tatooine buildings seem to have lots of stuff around them.

I'm pleased with these, they'll come in very useful for games of FfoL /GH. They are perhaps a bit dark in colour, and I haven't quite got the right look for the 'gubbins', but I'll keep working on it.

While I've been building these, Bodvoc has been busy too.  These are his buildings and there's more on his blog here. 

Mos Bodvoc?

Stripping for Fun and Profit - Part 3

This is part three of my trial of different methods of stripping paint off minis, you can find part two here.

 I left the minis in their various dips for a couple more days, here are the results.

Nail varnish remover

Dettol

As before the best result on removal from the dip was the nail varnish remover. The paint was virtually gone. The Dettol was nearly as good, but small patches remained. However, after a good scrub with an old toothbrush, both were cleaned enough for my purpose. There always seems to be some small amount of discolouration, especially on plastics. Any larger paint patches can usually be carefully removed with a tool.

The Iso was a big disappointment. The Fauxhammer site suggests that it is the ultimate for mini stripping, but it's no where near as good as either Dettol or nail varnish remover. Some paint did come off, especially after scrubbing, but only in patches. In the end I put them all into some nail varnish remover, so this part of the trial is a definite fail. 

In conclusion, nail varnish remover is perhaps slightly better at removing the old paint than Dettol, and certainly quicker. However, it degrades plastic, even the acrylic safe stuff.  A couple of bases left in the dip came out soft and bendy, and I have had plastic components such as space marine backpacks, loose some fine detail.  So unless you are keeping an eye on the process Dettol might be safer. Dettol seems pretty much OK to be left to work, even over weeks, without harming any plastic components. 

These are some slotta bases left in nail varnish remover for several weeks

However, now I have the Iso I put all stripped minis in it for a day.  Both the other dips leave a slight coating which feels faintly greasy.  This can be washed off in hot water with a bit of liquid soap, but the Dettol in particular can 'set' if water is used.  The Iso is ideal for a final clean up.

So that's the test done.  I have to admit to being surprised at the results.  I didn't know how good or bad the Iso would be, it was a new method to me.  I'd moved on to Dettol from nail varnish remover, but I've found the Dettol slightly less effective over a short time, though given longer, they both work pretty much the same. 

My method for stripping is the same regardless of the dip used.  I use old takeaway containers, similar plastic tubs are available in the kitchenware section of most supermarkets and similar.  Into this place  the minis to be stripped and pour your medium of choice over until the minis are covered.  Leave this for two or three days then vigorously scrub off as much of the paint as possible. It's a good idea to wear gloves for this. An old toothbrush works well, as does one of those stiff nylon brushes sold in sets with a brass wire brush and a steel wire brush. 

If you've used Dettol it's best to wash it clean first using just a bit of washing up liquid or liquid soap before using hot water, the nail varnish remover washes clean in hot soapy water. You may well need to dip the offending mini more than once to get it clean enough. 

Finally, don't tip the waste down the sink, it contains bits of coloured acrylic plastic (the paint). Better to tip it into old newspaper and wrap it up before putting it in the rubbish. 

I hope you've found this useful, and if you were wondering why 'Fun and Profit', I've found that stripped minis tend to sell better.  I certainly prefer to buy unpainted or stripped minis, you never know quite what you're getting with a painted mini.  A particular thing I dislike is the habit of evilbay sellers to sell minis undercoated in black.  I've found they often have quite bad mould lines, and need more cleaning up before touching up the undercoat.  Grrr.

Reaper Bones 77086, 77084, 77142 & 77087 Villagers - Palette Cleanser 6

My latest Palette Cleanser is another finishing off job on a few minis. These are villagers from the first Reaper Bones kickstarter and some of them have poor detail. In fact I believe that some of them, such as the mother and children, were never released for retail.

Still, they do provide useful NPCs, something I don't have many of.

I started painting these a couple of years ago but ran out of inspiration. One issue I think is that they don't quite fit the pseudo late medieval feel that most of my DnD games have.

Going back to them it was mostly a case of finishing off, a bit more shading and highlighting, and varnish and basing.

I'd already done all the flesh, but I gave the Smith an Army Painter Flesh Wash to give him a more rugged outdoor look, I think it's turned out quite well.

These minis will come in useful for roleplaying, once we can get to meet around a table again, and could even be used in the upcoming fantasy version of Fistful of Lead as bystanders, targets or objectives.

I didn't dislike finishing these, but most of the pleasure is from reducing the Bones Pile of Shame. 

Next I'll get that stripping test finished, then on with another mini project, with, perhaps, a bit more Tatooine terrain.

Stripping for Fun and Profit - part 2

This is part two of my trial of different methods of stripping paint off minis, you can find part one here.

After about a day I checked the minis. I'm not expecting them to be done yet.

In each case I gave them a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush to see how much paint would come off. 

Firstly the nail polish remover.

One orc straight out of the nail polish remover

The wrinkled paint is what we are looking for, it means that the paint has started lifting away from the surface of the mini. 

Three orcs from the nail polish remover after a good scrub with an old toothbrush

I'm surprised how well the nail polish remover has worked. Not only has most of the paint gone, but the glue has loosened so the bases could be removed. These are almost good enough to be repainted (or sold).

Now the Dettol 

An orc straight out of the Dettol

Again there is quite a bit of wrinkling of the paint, though perhaps less than with the nail varnish remover.

Four orcs from the Dettol after scrubbing with a toothbrush

These aren't as good at this stage, though to be honest, I wouldn't expect the Dettol to have done much more than start to lift the paint.

 Finally the Isopropanol

Three orcs straight out of the Iso

There is  hardly any visible change to these orcs.

And after a good scrub with a toothbrush

I'll admit to being surprised both by how well the nail polish remover did and how poorly the Iso did.

Still, this is after only a day, so I'll put them all back in their relevant dips and see what happens in another day or so.  

You can find part three of this series here.

Stripping for Fun and Profit - part 1

Sooner or later most people in the hobby have a paint job that they'd rather see the back of. Whether it's an ebay purchase with a thick layer of paint (ultramarine blue usually), an early paint job from years ago that you're too embarrassed to look at, or simply a mini that you think needs a different paint scheme, that paint just has to go.

I recently stripped some old Judge Dredd minis for T'Other One and he suggested I share my techniques with my blogging public. I didn't think to record the process at the time, so I've got some more minis to strip. 

There are several suggested ways of stripping minis. When I was starting out in the hobby I used Nitromores, a proprietary paint stripper that worked well on metal minis, especially with enamel paints, which were the norm in the day. However, it smells foul, is caustic to skin, gives off harmful fumes and melts most plastics (including plastic minis).

The three methods I'm looking at, all of which I have used to a greater or lesser extent, are Nail Polish Remover, Detol, and Isopropanol. 

I don't know where I first heard of using nail polish remover. I think it became popular with the rise of plastic minis. As long as you use the sort designed for acrylic nails, and don't leave plastic minis in too long, it does the job. 

I switched to Detol after reading Orlygig's Realms of Chaos in the 80s blog where he uses it. I've had some good results with it, especially with plastics, and it tends not to leave a faint trace of whatever colour the paint was.

Iso is a new one on me, and I read about it on Fauxhammer. Unfortunately since the article was written the price has risen steeply, and it became hard to find. I assume it was being used for medical purposes. 

The volunteers, or victims, for the trial are a group of original Space Orks from 1987 that I found on evilbay. This does mean that I don't know what the paint is (though the skin certainly looks like Citadel Goblin Green) or what undercoat has been used, but it should be an interesting experience. 

I've split the orks into three groups and I'll check on each batch regularly. Experience suggests that it will take a few days to fully strip the minis, so don't expect instant miracles. 

You can see part two here.

A Blogging Milestone

I was pleased to see that I've had over 20000 views of my blog. While I suspect some of those may not have been genuine hobbyists, a lot are and I'd like to thank you all.

Looking at my most popular posts my review of the Magic the Gathering Arena of the Planeswalkers game is the top, and my review of Star Saga came third. This tells me that people want to read my reviews, so perhaps I should do more? One problem is that I find it difficult to say much negative, I'd rather not say anything at all, so my reviews tend to be very positive, and come across as naïve and lacking in critical comment.

I'm very pleased that posts where I build useful stuff, especially slightly unusual stuff, are also popular. My budget flying stands and GMs screen both came in the top five. 

Battle reports do well also, but for obvious reasons I've not had any of those to post for the last year. 

I've garnered a few more followers, and am even listed as a blog to follow on a couple of other blogs, which is great. 

Of course, comments are always great, so please leave more. 

Building Tatooine in 20mm

If you've seen my 20mm Imperial force here you'll know I aim to be playing some games set in the Star Wars universe. Both Bodvoc and I felt Tatooine was the best setting to begin with, especially since I have some Sandpeople and some Jawas (though Jawas crop up on several other worlds apparently).

There is some nice terrain available for the Star Wars:Legion game, but of course its far too big for our purposes. Some of the 3D printed stuff looks great, (check out the Imperial Terrain Desert World stuff), and I suppose it could be scaled down, but I don't have a 3D printer.  I can use it as inspiration for building my own terrain though. There are also quite a few you tube videos and blog posts which make simple Tatooine buildings, mostly for Legion, so taking a little break from my schedule of mini projects and Palette Cleansers, I decided to have a go.

For the first build, I started small and generic. I used half a 40mm diameter polystyrene ball and some XPS. All the cutting was done using a Proxxon and my new Guider Pro.

I used the singly based Imperial Officer, henceforth known as Moff Forescale, as a guide for the height and width of the door. 

The door frame is a bit wonky as I added it late on in the construction so simply bent a thin strip of XPS, rather than cutting it to fit. 

The door was simply thin card cut to fit, then with more panels added, and finally a frame.

After a coat of mod podge it was textured with a mix of filler (spackle), PVA glue and a small amount of sand. Then painted using a mix of match pot emulsion, craft paints and hobby paints.

To make it look a bit more 'Star Wars' I added panels of card and some wire as some sort of pipe.

Pleased with this I went on to make another building, being a little bit more ambitions this time.

Tosche Station 

The second building was inspired by one of the buildings at Tosche Station. I found a cutaway diagram of the site on Wookiepedia and used that as a basis. I had some card tube from the inside of a roll of kitchen foil that I used for the vaulted roof, this sort of set the dimensions for the rest of the build. Comparing it to better images I realise it's too long, and the walls are vertical, not sloped (I misinterpreted the perspective on the first image). Never mind, I still think it looks OK for Tatooine.

A final bit of scatter terrain is a pile of crates. Simply blocks of XPS cut to size, each crate is a 10mm cube, then the distinctive patterning is cut in with a craft knife, then deepened with a pencil. The circle in the centre of each side is from the inside of a pen.

My 20mm Tatooine terrain so far

I've already got more buildings underway, and I'm experimenting with more complex designs.  FfoL is played on a suggested three foot square table.  If we scale down to two foot, then we want enough terrain to cover at least 25% of that, i.e. 1 square foot.

These have been excellent practice for larger terrain for the 28mm scale minis as well.  I'll definitely want plenty of those.

Even More Space Orcs

 I've finished another batch of Space Orks. I've certainly got enough for a crew for Fistful of Lead/Galactic Heroes. That said, there are a few more minis I'd like to get painted to give me more options.

Most of these minis were already built, and some I'd begun painting.  Some of these are the orks from the Black Reach starter set, they are simpler minis, coming in only three pieces, but fit in fine among the multi-part kits. There were a few I built from scratch though; the rocket launcher and the chainsword wielder particularly.   In Grimdark Future, one orc per unit can swap its close combat weapon for an 'ultra sawblade', so I thought a chainsword sounded appropriate.  I also chose a head with a skull trophy for this orc, so it could be the unit leader if required, at least until I paint some more of the 'Nobs'.

The painting process was pretty much the same as the last two batches.

After the usual varnishing process I experimented with applying a coat of silk varnish to the various metal bits and the helmets.  It doesn't show up well on the photographs, but is an interesting effect.

When I talk about part-painted, this is what it looks like.

I'm glad I got these done, it completes a second GF unit, with a special weapon option.  So now I have a leader and two units of warriors, with the option to include a special or heavy weapon in each unit.  I may take a break from Space Orcs for a while, though as I said, there are a few more I'd like to add.  I think in future I'll paint these mostly in batches of eleven, that way I'm doing a full unit of ten plus an optional special weapon.

The Space Orcs so far.

I do aim to paint more of these, and I'm looking forward to getting on to some vehicles.  Whether I'll use them for anything is a different matter, but it'll be good to have finally painted that long ago gift.

Next up another Palette Cleanser, but I've also been making some terrain, which I'll post soon, once it's finished.

Reaper Bones Dwarven Cleric - Palette Cleanser 5

 My next Bones Palette Cleanser was not picked up at random, she had been lying around on a windowsill for ages, and I though it was time I did something.

I didn't have any particular plans when painting this mini, but I had some vague ideas.  In my D&D campaign world there are three main gods, or Powers, who represent the Sun. the Land and the Ocean.  I decided she would be a cleric of the Land, but in the aspect of growing things rather than the more obviously dwarven aspect of Earth and Mining etc. So I chose a nice verdant green for the tunic, and some gold detailing.  The tunic was a base of Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Green, highlighted up through VGC Sick Green and VGC Goblin Green.  The fur 'skirt' was basecoated VGC Khaki, washed with Army Painter Strongtone, and highlighted up with Khaki and VGC Bonewhite.  The rest of the colours should be pretty obvious, though I gave the hammer head a blue wash to make it look more magical, and to help the runes stand out more.  The blue tint doesn't show too well on the photos, but it adds a subtle touch.  The hair was VMC Mahogany, washed with AP Fleshwash then highlighted by mixing a little VGC Beasty Brown in with the base colour.  I'm pleased with how the flask at her belt came out, I had planned to paint it bottle green, but I thought a bit of read would add interest to the mini.

Another fun mini, and one that will be useful in D&D, and probably in the up and coming fantasy version of Fistful of Lead too, and all dwarven team sounds fun (if slow).

I did think that the face, to me, comes across as more halfling than dwarf.  Perhaps its the smile and the rosy cheeks, or maybe simply the lack of beard.  Anyway, still a nice mini.

I'm using something new for the background, a couple of cork mats rather than the garish cutting boards I used previously.  I think it is an improvement, but please let me know what you think in the comments.