Moar Kickstarter Temptation

Well, it's been awhile, loads happening, not all game related.

I'll get back to posting more regularly, but I've not had much worth showing recently (at lest, that I can show before the players see it).

I'll just mention the following Mantic Kickstarter for RPG terrain, Terrain Crate.

The style seems similar to the 3D stuff included in Dungeon Saga, which has seen a lot of table top use in my D&D games, and it hasn't even been painted yet.

If it's at least as good as that, then I recommend it.  The Kickstarter price is certainly very good; you might not have an immediate use for everything includes, but it's well worth it if you use minis and like the 3D element.  I've found that the more you use this kind of prop, the more the players respond to it and use it within game.

I have just started painting the DS stuff, and it paints up very well.  I'll post some of it as soon as its finished.

Sponge Painting Deadzone Part 2

Last post I started sponge painting a building for Mantic's Deadzone game.
The building should be looking reasonable, but just a bit more effort will make it look a lot better, and this time we get to use a brush as well.
Firstly the stripes.  I can't remember where I first saw this idea, but painting the raised vertical bands on some of the panels really helps by adding a bit of colour.  The test building was yellow, for this one I chose blue.  I try to go for different colours on the board, I think of it as individual owners adding a touch of personality to their otherwise quite drab and uniform buildings.

First mask off around the bits you want to paint.  Masking tape is cheap enough; for this you don't need the really good stuff, save that for airbrushing.  Just make sure it sticks down next to the area to be painted, but if its a bit loose towards the edge, that helps when you peel it off.  If you're careful you can even re use it.

For this I used my Vallejo Game Colours, a dark blue than a lighter blue to catch the edges.

Finally I mixed some VMC Oily Steel with black and painted the bits I wanted to look metal (with a brush!).  These were then highlighted with pure Oily Steel.

Other steps to consider; run very watered down black into the cracks to emphasise the shadows, Sponge (or drybrush) a sandy/dusty colour around the lower edges.

Add posters and/or graffiti.

Sponge Painting Deadzone Part 1

I recently posted a picture on Facebook showing my latest efforts at painting Deadzone scenery.

For speed (and as an experiment) I tried DM Scotty's sponge method, and I think it worked well.  A few people asked for details, so read on.
You will need; paints, I use cheap acrylic craft paints, they are quite good enough for this.  There are many brands, I just use what I can find.  For this colour scheme you will need dark and light grey, dark or mossy green and a reddish brown.  A very light grey (or white to mix in) is good for highlights, but by this stage using model paints isn't too expensive.  You will also need a sponge.  I use triangular make up sponges that I buy in a bag for £1 from a discount shop.  Anything with a medium texture will do; if you've got the sponge from a pack of figures that's about right, just cut it into a useful shape (triangular is good).  The triangular shape helps when adding detail and highlighting.  An old plate or takeaway container to hold the paint, and finally gloves, as this is a very messy process.

Firstly build, wash and black undercoat your Deadzone terrain piece.

Then give the whole building a fairly heavy sponge coat of dark grey.  I use a very dark shade, almost black, then gradually add light grey so the effect is mottled.  If you have a triangular sponge (and its easy to cut one to shape) use the largest side for quickest coverage.  The action is a dabbing motion rather than painting it on, and moistening the sponge first (though not soaking it) helps.  Dab the sponge onto some old newspaper or similar to take off the excess and get a good amount held within the sponge.  Be careful when applying; too heavy handed and you will end up with a smear rather than the subtle texture you want (and yes, you can see that several times on this).  If that does happen, repeated dabbing will diffuse the patch of colour somewhat and you can always go over with a darker colour again.  You can start to pay attention to where you want shade and highlights, but most of this comes in later stages. 

Rinse out the sponge and then add some different colours.  This gives a much more naturalistic result, as buildings are rarely one shade, even when made from just one material.   I sponged on patches of green and brown here, though I realised that I used a sandy brown rather than the reddish brown I prefer (wonder where that paint has got to?).  Looking at it now, I think this would give a good effect for any GCPS military vehicles, hmmm.

Don't worry about exactly where this goes, just aim for a fairly even coverage.  It's going to be mostly covered up in the next stage anyway. 

 You can just see the sponge I use to the right of the building.

Now sponge over again in a lighter grey.  This time pay attention to the areas you think would be highlighted.  You will be covering up some of those patches of green and brown, but if your sponging is light, some of the colour will show through.  If you have a triangular sponge, now is the time to use a smaller side to give better control, especially on those edges. 

Finally for now, highlight the edges and anything else you feel needs it with a near white (or very pale yellow or brown)  I used a craft paint that is very similar to Bone White for this, as I find pure white a bit stark.  I have tried to emphasise the tiled effect on the roof by catching the edges with the highlight. Use the edge of the sponge to catch these highlights.  With practice you have a good amount of control here, so quite delicate effects can be achieved (and yes, I did  rush this for the blog)

That gives a useable result, but a bit of detailing will really make the building pop.

Next time I'll show you how.

Sci-Fi Pipes

As you know I play Mantic's Deadzone, a game that requires a lot of scenery.  I have some of the new industrial stuff, but I'm always looking out for new ways to fill that table (and stop T'other One's Plague munching on my Enforcers).  Browsing Poundworld the other day I found these;

... and thought 'pipelines'.  

Now there are already some very nice pipes in the Industrial stuff, but at only 50p a pack I had to give them a go.

My main worry was that the bends and joins would be too soft to take paint properly, so I gave everything a light rub down with a wire brush before washing well in warm soapy water.

I cut the two longer pipes down slightly so that the whole structure would fit within 2 cubes.  The straws cut easily, just score round with a razor saw, then they snap cleanly.

Then I undercoated with Rust-oleum Surface primer, which promises 'superior adhesion'.

This is just a simple gunmetal and black colour scheme to see how they look.

And with some Pathfinders for scale.

I think they do the job, and I will be using more, some on the outside of buildings and others as ground structures like this.  I will be on the look out for something to use as a valve, as I think a big wheel on the 'T' junction above would be great.  I might even build some chemical storage tanks and have pipes like this connecting them, or running down into the ground.

DIY Blade Barrier

Firstly, this is not one of my most successful builds.  It kind of works, but if I had had longer I would have approached it a bit differently.
I was trying to make monster minis for the Monday night D&D group.  In this case undead wraiths who spin loads of sword blades around, creating a whirlwind of steel.
I went for card 'blades' stuck in lumps of hot glue.  In the end I think they look a bit messy, but they did the job and chopped the heroes up nicely.

Initially I struggled to cut blades that looked right, then I though, nail clippers.  They make ideal curved blades.  You'll need a lot more of these than you think.

A blob of hot glue on a clear base to give the model some bulk.

 

Start sticking the blades into more hot glue

Carry on adding blades and hot glue, giving time for each lot to cool before adding more glue.

I made four of differing heights.

In play; the red rings indicated 'bloodied'.

In retrospect I would have been better using thin plastic rather than card as some of he blades are starting to bend at the tips.  It would be perfectly possible to use spare weapons from models, but thsi was quicker than finding enough and cheaper too.

Looking at them they would make good markers for the cleric spell Blade Barrier.

Flying Constructs

Yesterday's flying stands seem to have gone down well, so here's what I designed them for.
The current D&D adventure is set in an ancient catacomb.  It's been an age since anyone living has been in here, but the ancient safeguards may still be working.
For this construct I was thinking about a crystal, or a mass of crystals that can float in the air.  The base was the easy bit; I know how I was going to build those right at the beginning.
I looked around various craft shops for something to use for the crystal, but nothing, until I found a toy necklace.  (in fact a Frozen necklace) with nice plastic 'crystals' in three colours.  Bingo.

You've already seen how to make the stands, it was then literally a case of sticking the beads on in a more or less random pattern.  I used Evostick Serious glue, which seems to give a good strong bond on most surfaces.  it helps to glue a few beads together as sub assemblies, and take a bit of time.

 And here they are, all ready to give the heroes all sorts of pain.

Budget Flying Stands (or use the forks)

I am in the process of making some flying constructs for the Monday night D&D game.  They aren't finished yet (4 hours to go), but I thought you might like to see the stands I made for them.
I have been putting most of my minis on clear bases recently, and I wanted something similar for these flying monsters. I could hunt through my box of bases for old GW flying stands, but I had an idea.

I bought a bag of plastic forks, (100 for £1).  Straightened the tines of one after dunking in very hot water (usual cautions about working with high temperature stuff), then snipped off a couple of the right length.
I then filed a peg on the broad end and drilled an equivalent hole in a clear acrylic base. Then simply glued the tine into the base.

It's not fancy, but it works.

Next time i'll show you what goes on top.