Archive for category Modeling
My Workspace
Posted by NockerGeek in Modeling, Painting on November 16, 2009
This week, I finally got back on the painting horse and made a fair amount of progress on my first Hammerhead. I figured that this would be a great opportunity to show where I do my mini work. There’s about a 16″ square of space on my desk that I devote to my miniatures projects. That’s where I keep my brushes, a couple of plastic cups for water, and whatever paints I’m using at the time. I also keep my bottle of super glue at my desk; I tend to squeeze in assembly and repair time whenever I can, so it’s always ready to go. Here’s a closer view of the work area itself.
Besides everything I keep at my desk, I also have a set of rolling shelves just to the side, topped with a tacklebox full of paints. Each shelf has a certain purpose, which just helps keep me organized and functional. The top shelf holds minis that are assembled, but not yet based or primed. Next, a shelf of bases and basing material, including grit, flock, stone, and even a resin base for my Chaos Dreadnought (whenever I put it together). Next down is the tool shelf – my clippers, files, hobby knives, spare palettes, etc. Finally, there’s the shelf just for unassembled minis, mostly occupied by old pewter Chaos minis in pieces (including the aforementioned Dreadnought). Below that, three more shelves of miscellaney, including everything from spare paint bottles (mostly old Apple Barrel craft paints) to spare bits (such as a cup full of CSM backpacks).
Finally, a picture of my current project. Work on the Hammerhead has been progressing very well. I have all the flats and inking done, so this next week will see doing minor cleanup, edge highlighting, and detail work. I’m using the same colors as my Devilfish, but there’s more Knarloc Green panels amongst the Goblin Green ones; I wanted my tanks to have a different look from my transports.
One thing this week has taught me (or at least, reminded me) is that when it comes to getting something done, there’s no substitute for getting intentional and doing it. Sometimes, just blocking out an hour or so of time is enough to get the ball rolling. I’d planned on only working around one hour on one night last week; instead, I ended up working two nights and one morning to get to where I am. It’s nice to be making progress again.
Regarding Raptors…
Posted by NockerGeek in Modeling on October 23, 2009
I have half of my Raptors assembled, and hope to have the other half assembled this weekend. However, I do have one question – why is the Raptor boxed set packed with the assortment of parts that it is? Having an Aspiring Champion is nice, as is having a special weapons Raptor with several options. The pistol arms, though, are a bit disappointing. 2 bolt pistols and 1 plasma pistol in each box… which means that out of two boxes, I can only get 4 “standard” Raptors without resorting to finding other sources for pistols. I’ve got spare bolt pistols, so that’s not really an issue (beyond cutting off the plasma pistol), but it’s the principle of the thing.
Also, I still have to figure out how to mount an Icon of Khorne on one of the normal Raptors. I’d like to do something more visible than just a symbol on a shoulder pad, but I’m not sure what yet. I suppose I could cut off one of the chainswords and mount something that way. Ponder ponder ponder…
Curse You, Grandfather Nurgle!
Posted by NockerGeek in Modeling on October 10, 2009
Once again, illness has caught me in its sticky, snotty web and basically wrecked my week. Fortunately, it wasn’t the H1N1 swine flu (or as my wife likes to call it, “hamthrax”), so I seem to have bounced back.
In the meantime, I’ve been working on a couple of assembly projects when I haven’t been blowing my brains out through my nostrils.
- My first Chaos Defiler, which is roughly one-third of the way done. The legs and arms are built, as is the abdomen. Last night, I started getting the torso/cannon assembly together. After that, it’s a matter of assembling two CCWs (this is a Khornite Defiler), and then I’ll just put it all together. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. The sooner the better, though – I want to try out my 1000-point CSM list, although I still need to get the Raptors assembled as well.
- Four Crisis suits to pad out my latest Tau list. So far, I just have the torsos put together, and that alone has been an exercise in shaving, filing, and filling with green stuff. The torsos themselves fit together well, but the jetpack assemblies were not so kind. It took a fair amount of trimming down some miscast curves in otherwise-flat surfaces to get them to fit even remotely flush, and even with that there were still gaps that needed filling. Thanks to this, I’m also down one hobby knife blade – one of mine snapped mid-shave, ricocheted off my forehead, and landed on my wife’s desk. Fortunately, no one (besides the knife blade) was hurt in this incident. The green stuff has cured and has been sanded down, though, so I’m ready to move on to limbs and weapons.
My painting schedule should resume in November, so I’m planning on getting my Hammerhead done then. Hopefully, I can get some priming done before it gets too cold to do it outside.
Marks of Khorne in 8 Steps
Posted by NockerGeek in Modeling on September 25, 2009
One thing I’m still of a mixed mind about in the Chaos Space Marine Codex is the whole icon thing. Having to have one model in a unit being an icon bearer is a bit of a pain when it comes to WYSIWYG modeling. It’s not so bad for vanilla CSMs, as they have the parts for having someone tote around an icon on the sprue. For terminators, though, it’s a bit trickier. For one thing, there’s no comparable parts. For another, they don’t have any free hands. At a loss for what to do, and not really feeling like drilling into a terminator’s body, I pulled out my Green Stuff. Now, before the other night, I’d never really used Green Stuff for anything but patching gaps and doing pseudo-pinning, but suddenly I felt brave. What if the icon bearer’s armor itself was the icon? Of course, this meant one thing – putting the mark of Khorne on him, and that meant sculpting. That’s the mark of a good hobby – it encourages you to stretch yourself and try things you haven’t done before. Getting my Green Stuff, hobby knife, and cup of water ready, I got to work.
I was happy enough with the results to repeat it on his shoulder, and then again on my Terminator Lord, who also bears the mark of Khorne. So, how’d I do it? Here’s how: Read the rest of this entry »
Modeling Tip – Micro Files
Posted by NockerGeek in Modeling on July 23, 2009
If you work on miniatures at all, you really owe it to yourself to get a good set of files. I own a set of Gale Force 9 diamond micro files, and they’re easily one of the best tools in my toolbox. They’re small, but surprisingly tough. The diamond coating insures that the files will work just as well on metal miniatures as on plastic ones (although plastic does require a lighter touch). Also, they come in a variety of shapes – flat, round, curved, square, and triangular – for dealing with a variety of surfaces and jobs. Utility-wise, they come in very handy at multiple tasks. With mine, I’ve:
- cleaned up flash and mold lines
- filed holes larger or pegs smaller to provide a better fit (particularly useful with plastic flight bases, which never seem to be sized properly)
- scored/roughened metal surfaces to help glue adhere better
- filing off old, stubborn super glue from older minatures
- added grooves and depressions to a bit to make it join with a different part
Of course, a good tool requires good care. Fortunately, these are relatively easy to take care of. I keep them in their plastic sheath when not in use, and after using them I run them lightly between my thumb and forefinger to clean off any material hiding in the filing surface. By keeping them clean and dry, you can greatly extend the life of your files.
There are also sets of larger files available, but for miniature work I prefer the smaller, more delicate micro files. They’re a good set of precision tools, and not badly priced for the amount of work you’ll get out of them.
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