When MkII was released Privateer Press resized the “wall template” used by some spells, making the fold-up cards that came with models like Feora and Gorten obsolete. Although I liked the fold-up wall for ease of handling, I decided to make a new flat set so models could be placed directly on them if necessary.
Recently I’ve been experimenting with a few of the techniques that the Privateer Press painting staff talk about in their recent books. It’s taken a while to adapt to a new way of doing things but after getting used to it I’ve been able to increase the speed I can paint a figure pretty significantly.
The biggest change I’ve picked up on is how I layer cloth. In the past I’ve started with the darkest shadow color and slowly worked up from there layer by layer. But recently I’ve switched to basecoating with my mid-tone and shading down from that in thin coats, falling back to wet blending occasionally just to smooth out some of the larger surfaces.
Vindictus in particular only took a few days for me to do, and for me that’s faster than it usually would. If it weren’t for the filigree around the armor plates, I expect it would’ve gone even faster.
I’ve also spent some time on a reaper figure lately, using this technique primarily on her cloak. A lot of the rest of her is quick-work, but all in all, she’ll make a good RPG figure once complete.
I’m still refining the techniques, but for now I’m satisfied with how the figures are turning out. Soon I’ll be moving on from my recent string of Protectorate pieces to try out the wintery blues of my Legion. Between that and a few side pieces I’m working on, I should have ample opportunity to perfect the new technique.
I’ve noted a few things before on my blog: I hate painting Exemplar and I’m suffering from brush burnout. You’d think I’d pick different a different model type for my newest project. But alas, I just started my Exemplar Errant Seneschals and Unit Attachment instead. Sometimes I wonder if something’s seriously wrong with me.
I spent a few evenings with Hulu on the laptop near my painting desk working on the models’ armor and made some decent progress. I’m still working on some more detailed shading at the moment, but I’m going back and forth between wanting to take the time to do some really detailed shading and getting burnt out working on them.
This has me thinking – I wonder if army painting is causing my abilities to stagnate. It seems like there’s less motivation to push my skill to the next step when in the back of my head I can always fall back to “Well, this just has to look as good as the rest of my models.” Might be time to shake things up a bit.
With just a couple days left before Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X here in St. Louis, I’m still scrambling to finish a few last minute figures before Saturday’s Hardcore event. Surprise surprise, it’s down to the wire with me scrambling to finish a everything up in time. It really shouldn’t be a surprise, though. 🙂
I also have to clean up a few models and finish assembling my Exemplar Errant Seneschals in case I want to use them later in the weekend. They definitely won’t be painted for Hardcore but I might toss ’em in another list to give them a go in one of the other formats.
Despite being behind, I’m looking forward to the event. Last two years have been fantastic, and this year promises to be no exception.
I’ve never been a big fan of GF9’s tokens, and Privateer Press’ don’t work for me either. Both companies’ designs have some shortcomings that caused me to stay away from their products. At first I used Youngwolf7’s tokens, but by the time I picked up the Legion of Everblight I had started making my own.
Now that the Forces of Warmachine: Protectorate of Menoth book has been released I finally sat down between applying coats of primer to some miniatures to put together some tokens for my Protectorate force. I still had my set from MkI but enough abilities were renamed for me to decide to redesign a new set instead of using Youngwolf7’s design.
I did a little editing to the graphic used on the Privateer Press gallery page to create the background for my tokens, and added some text layers to create what’s pictured above. I used .75″ cubes or .75″ faux scrabble tiles I picked up at the local craft store to give the tokens some width and heft. They can usually be found in the woodworking and scrapbooking departments respectively. Mosaic tiles are another option, but those are concave and/or have an irregular surface, making these better surfaces for gluing.
Since I started this post talking about the issues I have with the PP and GF9’s offerings, I suppose I should go into a little more detail on what I think makes good tokens.
It’s already that time of year again. In a few short weeks Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X will be upon us. This year the event will feature another Hardcore event again – the first ever official one for Warmachine MkII. There’s not much time left, but I’m behind on getting prepared. This feels oddly familiar.
I have a few lists I’m tossing around to play, but I haven’t even really settled on if I’m playing the Protectorate or Legion. The Legion models I’d want to use are already painted, but there’s still a few key Protectorate ones – like the Hierophant and Covenant – that I needed to get to.
It’s been a while since I last picked up the brush; maybe even a couple months. Painting has always been an enjoyable hobby for me, but lately it’s always seemed like there’s something else I rather do with my free time. Still there aren’t many chances to play in a Hardcore event, so it’s time to buckle down and get to work.
I was expecting to see the Exemplar Errant UA in the new No Quarter, but not a new synergy solo for the unit. Granting Hunter to Errants, as well as having both Hunter and Pathfinder himself, really makes him feel like a Strider Deathstalker type model… but clad in white heavy armor?
Don’t get me wrong, I think this guy has some very nice rules that can be especially difficult for an opponent in scenario play. He can sit just out-of-sight behind/in forests and take pot shots, and since he can sacrifice Errants when he dies, stay in an area far longer than a single 5-wound solo would normally be able to.
That’s right; I’m doing it. Even after the last two disappointing Protectorate previews I’m going to talk about my hopes for the upcoming Exemplar Errant Officer and Standard Bearer. Errant themselves are solid, and if the Temple Flameguard are any precedent their UA will boost them into the realm of teh win.
In Mk I, Errant were known for their outrageous point costs but now a Protectorate only pays a whopping 5 points for a minimum unit or 8 for a max. For that point cost you can field an efficient jack-of-all-trades unit with at least one ability to help them fill any roll on the table:
My painting has been progressing slowly but steadily. Nowadays it seems like I can only spend so much time with the brush before I need a break. But I recently made progress on a handful of miniatures so I figured it was time to add to my (lacking as of late) collection of WIP shots.
First up is Rhoven and the Honor Guard. I posted some initial WIPs of the Honor Guard a while back and since then I’ve made some pretty good progress. The Honor Guards have actually been sitting mostly done for a little while now while I worked on Rhoven himself.
I’m most happy with the lower portion of Rhoven’s robes so far, but there’s still some work that needs to be done. I’m going to repaint the stole for starters; the highlights were pretty borked when I did them the first time. That and some more general cleanup work should make him ready for sealing.
With the release of Prime MkII, I finally went through my MkI faction decks and gold card collections. They’ve all been packed away into a three ring binder. I’m not sure what use I’m ever actually going to get out of the collection again but my packratitis makes it so I can’t just toss ’em.
The cover is a draft of a flier that was put together for the first Privateer Weekend at DieCon 8. I have a similar one featuring Lylyth that I’ll use when I do something similar for my Legion cards.
In a few days I’ll finally have my hands on my MkII version of my Protectorate cards. Even if I’m not completely happy with the layout and design of the cards, they’ll still be better than playing off of the printouts that we’ve been using since the MkII pdf was released.