Work in Progressssssssss.

Been working on a birthday gift for a friend, the very pulpy Kol. Zanzibar from East Riding Miniatures. He comes with a Not Cobra Commander alternate head, but what he real needs to take over the world is a good cape. How could he boogie to Three Dog Night without one? Besides, there is a technique for sculpting capes I've always wanted to try.

I had cleaned assembled and based the miniature before hand. I used Green Stuff, it has a predictable set time and is stiff enough to span gaps unsupported. After mixing I rolled it out as flat as I could, then put it in between to sheets of plastic. I used a sandwich bag. Then I pressed it between two hard cover books, standing on them in order to get it even flatter. I let the putty set for 20 minutes before removing it from the sandwich bag, then cut it into the size and shape I needed. The putty was stiff enough to hold its shape, yet still workable. Once stuck to the miniature, I used a rubber tipped shaper to smooth folds and curves, and a metal blade tool to create the smaller wrinkles at the top of the cape.

There were a few unwanted wrinkles from the sandwich bag as well as from the shaping. I plan on touching these up with some more putty. Here is the cape from the front:

BTW My Solo Project

At least a couple of you must have seen this already, but I realized I get up to Op-For HQ so infrequently these days (deep cover covert ops, etc, you know how it goes) the word has probably not got around. But for the past six months now I've been doing a blog called Belched for the Depths—check it out!

The low-down is, now that my new career is in full swing and I've shelved the commission painting gig I've finally got the time to throw myself into my own projects, and BftD is for those projects.

Don't worry, though, I'm not leaving the band and you can still find me around here on the Op-For blog. I know you were all panicking there for a sec. ;)

Miniature Review: St. Nikolaus by Tor Gaming

Let's do a product review. Have you heard of Tor Gaming? If not, go check them out. They produce 28mm scale miniatures and have created two gaming systems they work with (Relics and Unbridled Fury). We will talk about their Relics game which they coined "stitchpunk." They have developed three factions within the game. A Britanan and two monster type groups. The models in the Britanan are sorta cute, stitched together, dolls bearing weaponry and clothing from the early days of Britain's army. They have just posted up their rules and are beta testing at this time. A great time to get into the game! Reviewed here is a promotional piece called St. Nikolaus, themed after jolly old St. Nic, but in stitchpunk styling...

What's in the Box? (or blister):

This blister pack included everything to assemble on St. Nikolaus model. And was easily opened, no cutting or sharp plastic edges! Blister was labeled with part number TGRBESN1

• One St. Nikolaus body
• One bag of holiday goodies
• Sprue with piping and bone pieces
• One 40mm round plastic slotted base

Sculpting/Casting Notes:

This model is on the small size compared to others I've worked with. The quality of the casting is very good. With very little mold lines and the flash was almost not existent. This model is only a few pieces so it should be easy to assemble. Pose options are limited. The model stands about 16mm to eye level.

Here is a size comparison to some other models.

Overall:

A very nice model. If your on the lookout for a little more light hearted skirmish game, maybe Relics is your ticket. Thanks again to Tor Gaming, and I am looking forward to checking out their gaming rules and how they develop more.

Click here to order on Tor Gamings website

2012: Resolutions

The clock struck 12 and 2012 is here. As are traditions, we made a few resolutions last year and now is the time we reflect on them. How did you do? Good, or not so much. For myself I made 6 hobby gaming resolutions. It looks like I completed 3 of them. For the first time I attended a gaming convention, KublaCon. It was a blast. 3 days of hanging out and living the gamers life. I definitely plan on going again. I also upped my postings for this blog, looks like I posted at least 2 posts a month last year. And I only started one new gaming system, Bloodbowl (Thanks to Op-For's generosity). Now for 2012... comment and share yours too.

1. Complete my playable Bloodbowl Chaos team
2. Complete my Mordheim Carnival of Chaos warband
3. Host a game day at my house
4. Create a diorama piece
5. Continue actively posting to this blog (a repeat from last year cause its a good one)
6. Organize my collection of miniatures, supplies and tools better

Community Showcase: Lance Cardinal

Today I am highlighting an amazing artist that creates wonderful miniature scenes. Lance Cardinal has a great collection of themed projects he has built including Dr. Seuss, Evil Dead, Little Shop of Horrors, Nightmare before Christmas. Here I am showcasing his scratch built Muppets Theatre Playset. From his posts the Palisades brand produced the Muppet characters and a number of stage scenes. Each were wonderfully detailed and accurate to the TV/Movie versions. The backstage playset was not produced, so he took it for himself to visualize and craft this wonderful piece. Enjoy and be sure to check out his other works...

View the finished model

View the making of this

Twelve Days of Christmas / Wargaming Style

For the wargaming modeler in all of us,
I introduce to you the 12 Days of Christmas...

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

 One can of Testors Dullcote!

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Two Tubes of Green Stuff,

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Three Color Shapers,

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Four Tree Armatures,

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Five Golden Demons, 

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Six Ounces Clump Foliage,

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Seven Sable Brushes,

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

 Eight Vallejo Washes,

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Nine Needle Files,

On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Ten Scenic Bases,

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

 Eleven Band-Aids,

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... 

 Twelve Spruces of Minis!

Haqqislam W I P

I thought I'd give you all a little update on the infinity stuff I have been working on, I'm not super stoked on the paint jobs, but i think the are progress, and I am getting better (at least I hope). I also made some mine counters camo tokens and E/Maulers.