From the workbench of the esteemed Horati0nosebl0wer

Why I stop doing mini work from time to time can be pinned to analysis paralysis. I get wrapped up in my own head and think of the detail work instead of doing it. The comparison of my own work to that of others and the downgrading of considering my own talent and capabilities, not in the the spirit of being humble but of self worth, and this leads to turning away from the hobby out of discontent with my own achievement.

I’ve come to this thinking by doing work in my head regarding other areas of my life and I was struck by the layout of the most recent book from Mig Ammo which Gerry reviewed. I think that it addresses a core notion which hadn’t quite been articulated as a visual answer. It boils down to the sliding scale of painting levels clearly. It gives the reader high quality painting porn photos (no other way to put it, but its true) of even simple technique and then going along the path to more detailed and time intensive work. It addresses level of need for detail. Where does one need to end up to perceive making good looking work?

Scale of project and of figures makes the detail level scale. I’ve dived into painting a friends epic Eldar force and the mesh masking technique I used on my leader for the Arabian Knights at 28mm has a whole different look on a Fire Prism at 6mm. The 2 inch-2 foot rule becomes clear only through experience or seeing examples in situ. The rank and flank of an ACW or Napoleonic will be different than the skirmish warband of Warcry or Space Station Zero. The zoo is full of very different animals from our mini world.

I’ll be back to more painting as I ease my mind. Here’s something that crossed my path in suggestions that poked at issues regarding other artistic ventures I’ve had.

Then I found this

Good news for the work front, I might be back to building again. I don’t look forward to the prospect of being in the cold come winter. My hope is to get a shop position at that point. The downside is less time for minis. I’ll be sure to push out as much work as possible before that happens.

Sculpted damage to the armor is on the model but I added a couple extra dings on the edges. The edge highlights really popped for me and I’m pretty pleased with the model overall. It was a random purchase that I think came out better than anticipated.

Feathered wings came to my attention and I put up my note on the matter in my Arabian Knights project. This was a good opportunity to test out a working idea.

I don’t remember the range the model comes from but I do recall it being featured in the Saga Age of Magic book.

Note: the eyes were not added while on my porcelain throne

Having done some hobby and moving things around I failed to notice what can fall as I was deciding what next to work on. I found out that a hard drive placed precariously on other things can and sometimes will fall on minis. It happened to land on my leader figure for my Arabian Knights when it decided gravity was a good law to follow.

Sometimes you get lucky. This is one of those time I happened to as the only thing that broke was a foreleg. The shield popped off and so did the rider. There were some stress fractures in the other legs but that was the extent of the damage that I saw. I have since reglued the leg and will be repainting touchups. I am thankful that is the only thing I need worry about for the build.

A stream of consciousness blog… sounds like an idea. With that to mind I will address the good feeling of gift giving/sharing hobby with younger people or others in general and establishing a tradition of gaming among friends and family. As people, we can spontaneously create things that are bonds between us which are personal and without greater impact than maybe a small group. This is organic and without any greater import than the people directly involved. What becomes of a whole lot of people that do this is a community with tradition. There is a cultural growth and norm development that includes handing down from the past to the future. The experience of where our hobby comes from, the names of people who did impressive things or personalities which inspire to promote positive sentiment and a few tales of guidance all make for an overarching subset of people.

Are we a subculture?

My gift to my nephew arrived all safe and sound that he reported via text message. It makes me happy to see that I have the impact of being able to guide a younger nerd with his own hobby and impart my insight when I am asked it. Thankfully I have more years with my other nephews as Otterpups to warp guide their little minds… lol

The limit of caffeine was reached and dopamine levels pushed well beyond normal in dealing with getting laid off of work Friday morning a couple hours into my shift. What else does one do than, get a haircut/beard trim, go home and have quite a bit of coffee before a marathon session of paint slinging into the small hours of the morning?

I admit it was not all hobby time. I caught Zoolander No. 2 in the break time and had a few laughs as well with the Weekender and XLBS. Music in mass quantities has also been taken in and the discography for Heilung has been listened to in its entirety. It seems only fitting for painting Vikings to listen to them. In my painting fervor I even included one of the rune stones I purchased from what was to be an Indie of the Week previously covered.

This has been a mental health weekend. I’m now dealing with the part of rehashing a resume and looking again. I might finish up quite a bit more for one of my projects now to feel like I’m being productive somehow.

I decided to take off all paint thus far. I wasn’t happy with the way the Speedpaints came out on the generally smooth surface of the fabric. The Gripping Beast plastic Viking 4 point starter box is a good small package to get someone else onto the path of mini madness.

A crap weekend for health but finished a mini off. I have no idea what line it came from and failed to find anything after I did a cursory check through Reaper (my general go to). The shield was a spare from some metal vikings I inherited a long time ago and no idea either. Any clues from other members would be helpful to id this figure.

A quick bit of pick me up to complete from assorted figures that I’ve been given or had in my Hoard of Shame. Its painful fo catch the mold line after the fact but I can be assured to hear more about it later.

As mentioned in the Unofficial Weekender @ceppie sent me a few of his random test minis that he got through MyMiniFactory for his printer. I decided that chucking Army Painter Speedpaints was just the thing to play with for blocking in color. I started with Plasmatic Bolt over a grey primer. I then drybrushed Reaper Master Series Lichen Green, Vallejo Game Color Escorpina Green, RMS Ghost White and then a final touch of pure white. I’m pleased with the quick results from today.

More work done with lowered expectations

And now some stuff for one of my nephews

I think I’ve cracked the issue as to why I have problems completing miniatures. I have been able to knock out more minis lately than I have for some time. Blocking in my colors with Speed Paints and then working from there has been my latest break. I’d say that putting down opaque layers should be my go to but setting up with white (or doing a zenithal) and then layering pigment that pulls and pools to create my working contrast with vivid colors has motivated me in seeing quick results. I know I can go back and rework areas I want as need be. The immediacy of seeing areas colored instead of keeping vast swathes of figure bare excites my eyes. Its similar to priming a single color but the value scale is what makes the difference. I’m glad to have picked up my set of Speed Paints as I can bounce back and forth on a single model. I might try batch painting this way somewhere down the road. I know I’ve got a backburner project that would do with some attention once I get a handle on my current active ones.

I’m happier for hitting this with paint to put on a table (when? No idea, likely not even my own) I put it down on a 25mm resin base I had leftover from long ago that came in a Secret Weapon castoff bag. I also added the spent shells from the company. All this and a No Dust Rust [NDR] effect despite having pigments. I didn’t have the time for cleanup so I painted. Overall the concrete came out nicely as well.

Keeping on track with painting and chipping away at the Pile of Shame

There is more resin for other projects in hand and a large lot of metal spears from Warlord Games. They were quite kind to send a sprue of Napoleonic Late French Line Infantry which I didn’t expect. Perhaps this might be the beginning of a Silver Bayonet force [shrug]. My thanks to the mysterious “RT” as I still maintain my Non-Purchase Pledge.

I got the commission work done and did quite a bit of modding on this trio. It all started out like the original like the one on the left.

Addendum: Courtesy of Goblin Lee’s Miniature Blog I’ve learned that these are from Heritage Miniatures

I’ve decided to give up buying any more minis for the rest of the year. I’ll hold off on the dopamine rush and hack my way through the Pile of Shame backlog. This will give me a chance to sort things out in life and send off Giftmas without issue.

Here’s a revisit to some of the stuff I cleaned up.

Time to set this project down for a short while (hopefully) as I start packing away things for an upcoming home transfer. The containers of stuff not immediately being used for my current big project are being stuffed into storage to await further attention.

Giftmas Bombardment Commencing! All Geeks, Nerds and Hobbyists Man Your Hobby Bunkers! This Is Not A Drill! Intercontinental Ballistic Minis Launching!

Its been too long to be away from the random stuff that I have for hobby. I was working my second job of doing security and I was caught up by the color change of the leaves. I decided to grab more leaves than seemed reasonable to have available scale leaves later when there are none to be had. The Greenstuff World maple leaf punch (Ref. 1415 – light blue) worked great as I sat for a couple of hours doing nothing but pushing the die through leaves in order to have natural and realistic effects for future projects.