Bonecrusher and Brain finished

After a long time, I finally finished this miniature and the base. I tried a lot of new things here, new colour (Vallejo Air), more texture, focus etc. I like the cartoonish style of the result, especially because many other people won't. I tried to limit the colour palette and still let the rat ogre look like candy. The flash exaggerates the colour by far, maybe there will be taken some better pics one day.

Brain, the real boss of this duo, was originally standing on top of a banner in the Island of Blood box. Hope you like what I did on this guys, let me know what you think. This mini will definitely go to the Duke of Bavaria and maybe to next years German GD, we will see......

Chris

Bonecrusher update # 6

Not that much progress, nothing spectacular. The fist is almost finished, just have to set the tones right. Up next are the bandages on the other arm, then the cable and last but not least the tail. After that, fun begins...brain is already waiting for colour.....

Apart of that, I am making plans for upcoming events and contests. I love to do that, although most plans remain just that...plans. :)

As me and my wife cancelled our trip to the USA next year, I might take part at the German Games Day in October. The Duke of Bavaria is a must go as well. Apart of that, I would love to go to UK Games Day. Let's see which plans become real. ;)

Chris

Games Day Italy 2011 - link colletion

This years last Games Day has just taken place and we already have the first results.

The Slayer Sword goes to:

Matteo Murelli

More infos I found:

rapaz one gold and one silver
rusto one bronze
franciuus gold in Large Scale and Gold in Diorama
gobbo one bronze
axia one bronze
Raffaele Picca Gold in 40k Monster and silver in 40k Single
mauganrà one silver
Andrea Ottolini 4 golds and one bronze
Angelo Di Chello one bronze
Steve gold in Open
Vincent (Althalus) bronze in 40k vehicle with a speeder

  Farabi:

Gold 40k monster (Picster - Raffaele Micca):



Silver 40k single (Picster - Raffaele Picca):

Galleries:

http://www.facebook.com/

https://www.facebook.com%20/# 2

stra75's gallery

Legio pictorum gallery





Sources:

http://www.farabi.it/

http://minicreateurs.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?57190

Chris

Bonecrusher update # 5

I painted yesterday in the evening, so there is some progress to show. The mini is almost done, parts of the right arm, some bandage, the tail, cable AND "Brain" have to be done. I hope I can finish this mini until next weekend and send it to the box of pride (aka my showcase). You want to know who or what "Brain" is? You'll have to wait a few more days.

The picture shows that there are still some lights missing on the arm, I will change that soon. Concerning the warpstone - I was really afraid that the green would ruin the entire colour balance of the mini. I decided to do large parts in very light green/ greenish white, to prevent that. The result is not fully convincing, as it doesn't really look like some sort of gem. I think I will add some dark spots for more contrast and hope that will do it.

Can't wait to finish this project, do "Brain" and head on to the next miniature.

Chris

Review: Citadel Liquid Green Stuff

This is what GW says about one of its latest products:

Liquid Green Stuff is the ideal tool for filling in small gaps on a miniature. Because it is water soluble you can use a normal Citadel Paint Brush to apply it (just make sure you wash the brush afterwards). The Liquid Green Stuff will then set in place, filling the gap neatly and efficiently.
This pot contains 12ml of Citadel Liquid Green Stuff

First thing that came to my mind when I saw "Liquid Green Stuff" was: "Yeah, right. So this is your answer for Finecast." However, I gave this a try and decided to do a little review.
I have read several articles about this stuff and some of them said that Liquid Green Stuff is non-toxic. GW doesn't say that on their homepage, so this might be wrong. Can't tell you more about this aspect but I try not to lick the brush after using it. :)

Consistency:
Liquid Green Stuff looks and feels like almost dry GW-colour. The one that is not totally lost and can be reactivated by adding a bit of water. You could also compare it to liquid rubber or hot cheese on a pizza, whatever you prefer. When you look very close, you can see sort of a sandy surface but that disappears after drying. There is a very faint smell that I can't describe in detail, but nothing to worry about. As I mentioned before, I didn't taste it.

Shrinking:
I added a small strip to a ruler, exactly 1 cm. I then waited for about 15 minutes and looked again, without noticing any shrinking concerning the breadth. What I instantly noticed was the fact, that the Liquid Green Stuff became very flat. So as the original GW-text says, this seems quite good to fill gaps, bubbles or remove mold lines. As this was a very quick test, I wouldn't definitely say that it doesn't shrink at all, it just didn't until now (one hour went by).

Filling gaps:
I looked for something with a visible gap and found nothing.^^ Then I went reeeaaaalllyyy deep into my box of shameand found the legs of the Nurgle-Lord-thingy from 40k. As you can see on the pics, some work has to be done between the leg and the torso. Lets see how it worked.

I was a bit disappointed at this stage. I waited for about 15 minutes, until the Liquid Green Stuff looked totally dry. Well, it was not. I have to test how long it really takes until it is dry and can be sanded, 15 minuted are not enough. However, this is the result. The gap is filled, thats what I wanted. The consistency at this stage is still like rubber.


Smoothen flat surfaces:
For me, this is the real strength of Liquid Green Stuff. I used a lot of other puttys to get surfaces smooth but none of them worked perfectly for me. This product does.

First a I added a bit of water to the surface, then I applied a first thin layer of the putty. After 5 minutes, I applied a second layer and waited. Using water really makes this stuff easier to work with, I have to try different mixtures to get a satisfying result. After about 20 minutes I sanded the surface and got a really smooth result. The best thing is, you don't have to wait ages until the putty is dry.


Using it to sculpt:
No way, don't even try it.


Conclusion:
Liquid Green Stuff is worth the money, especially compared to other puttys used for the same reason. Don't use it right from the pot, it will disappoint you. Dilluting with water brings nice results. After drying, it doesn't get rock-hard.


If you have any questions or remarks, let me know.


Chris

Bonecrusher update # 4

I really feel bad because I had no time to care for this blog during the last couple of weeks. However, after I found some routine concerning my job, I managed to also find some time to paint again. With about 10 different wips in my "box of shame", it seemed to be a hard decision to chose the right mini. It wasn't....

I am really motivated to finally finish the Bonecrusher-project and send it to my showcase until the next GD. Therefore I rushed some unfinished parts yesterday in the evening. I painted the neck muscles, the face and the metals on the weapon arm in about 4 hours. The pics are terrible as always, to yellow and a bit blurry. Let me know what you think...

Chris

You shouldn't miss...

...some great step by step articles. All painters are Germans and rather new to the topic of historical painting. While SKATE shows some awesome freehand work with a little help from masking tape and his airbrush on Pegasos Karl D'Anjou, Feanor uses pure brushpower to paint Markos Botsaris from Alexander Miniatures. Crackpot is doing the "usual" stuff - pure perfectness. Follow the links and enjoy the pics. Unfortunately the descriptions are written in German only, but maybe the pics help as well.

Feanor's Botsaris

SKATE's D'Anjou

Crackpot's "Outnumbered"

I myself haven't held a brush in my hands for weeks now, but this will change today. I will take some pics and show you my current project soon. My brain is full of ideas for both fantasy and historical projects.

Chris