Skullcrafts

For the holidays... Link to contest :snow:

Skullcrafts has conducted a massive overhaul of the website, pictures and information on products. New basing kits have been released and all items in those kits have been made available individually. New basing materials have also been released. The normal basing kits have all gone up by $5 but you also get nearly double the amount of materials from the previous basing kits. Link: http://www.skullcrafts.com

Base Build Off (starts September 20th, 2010 and ends October 20th, 2010). This competition tests your abilities of creativity on how to "build a base".

It would cost an arm and a leg to sell them separately. Not entirely sure I want to do that. This will be explained further in this reply. I think it's great that you can find such outstanding deals on so many things. I have not been as fortunate. I agree, if you can get them for cheaper please let me know. I too have purchased several thousand pocket watches, mechanical watches and clocks. I don't go for gears and the like because it would be insanely expensive. Movements can easily be bought on Ebay or at local clock/watch repair stores. Crafts stores charge too much for a single movement that yields little useful items when disassembled...in my experiences. How do I get the parts? I buy a load of watches and start disassembling them piece by piece. That's right, all by hand and all non-destructively. I've got it down now to approximately 35 minutes per watch from start to finish. This yields about .2 ounces of useful materials per watch. If you care to do the math, you'll find that mass production of this sort of thing is just not possible for me. That's why I offer a smaller amount for far less money. I would love nothing more than to offer these types of materials separately, but it's just not economically possible right now...besides, I don't think anyone wants to pay $50 for a little bag of gears. I wouldn't. Anyway, that's my take. :thumb:

New release from Skullcrafts: Steampunk Basing Kit :congrats:

Skullcrafts [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDKod6KYG0g]Autumn Basing Kit[/ame] video review by Les at AewsomePaintJob.com :coolpics:

Wow! thanks for all the positive feedback. It's been a long build and the end of it is getting closer. I am very pleased with how it's turning out. Thanks much guys. :five:

I see how it is, I post my WIp and then you have to trump it with this. Psh! Whatever. Heh seriously though, this is an amazing piece. I think I actually feel a chill. Well done! :hypnotize

This actually began over at the Skullcrafts Forum but I figured I'd share it here as well. Let me know what you think. Some alternate pics can be found HERE

Thanks guys for all the comments. Just wanted to announce that I am not done with the dio just yet. I still have a ways to go. Need to put the finishing touches on the minis, a few things like highlights, eyes, some blending, etc. Plus I am thinking of adding Zoraida, The Hag to the dio before it's done. I also have to finish painting the majority of the dio with highlights and what not. Yes it's about 75% done and won't look much different when it is, but I have to make it to my own standards and it's not quite there yet. But again, thanks for the comments.

Latest update:

Here's another update. Below is a picture of the final dimensions. It fits nicely on the 1:18 scale car display case. I went ahead and added static grass all around the edges...which now pretty much shows up in every picture until I decide to clean it off. But anyway, it gives you an idea of how big (or rather small) the entire piece is. This pic shows that I have added another gremlin to the base. A closer look. This one shows the colors a bit more clearly, as well as the static grass that's everywhere on the dio now. One more close up of the walkways. I'll be updating with more pics soon.

Yes, I will have to go out and buy some rope colored thread but I'll be connecting them together with it for sure. Thanks for the comments.

Update: More pics, sorry they are dark and/or fuzzy.

I based it green because I'm going to be tinting the water either blue or a mucky brown...haven't decided yet. It gives an interesting affect once cured. Yes, I will be adding vegetation and more painting as it develops.

This started off as an individual base project: As you can see, this unfinished base was abandoned. I decided to do a small diorama for the minis instead. Here are some WIP pics of that:

I've been working on an LED crystal themed diorama and was wondering if anyone knew of a good place to source crystal or crystal-like miniatures in the 28mm-32mm range? I'm looking for 3-5 differrent minis to place on the diorama without bases. I'm not asking to source actual crystal miniatures, just ones that look crystal-ish...know what I mean? Golems, constructs, ice creatures, etc. Thanks.

Not entirely sure if my statements will mean anything to most of you, but I figured I would give it a go anyway... The reason painters wash their minis before primering: To get off any dirt, grime, residue, oils, etc. If the mini doesn't appear to have these types of problems, there's no real point in washing it. The reason painters "prep" their mini before primering: To get off any dirt, grime, residue, oils, etc...yes, the same answer...but there's more to it than that. We also file mold lines, cut away flashing and venting, add or remove details as needed and a number of other things. Usually this is followed by a clean up step using a rotary tool and a wire brush which pretty much removes any need to wash the mini. So for the original question of if someone should wash a prepainted miniature before primering. The answer should be either yes or no, depending on if you see anything wrong with it or if it's been handled excessively. If you're not sure, give it a qucik toothbrush scrub with rubbing alcohol and then hit it with primer. You won't need to strip the paint underneath, you'll only end up with more of a mess than you started with. Anyway, that's my two bits.

They actually look much better than the pictures show them, but thanks very much. I'm glad you have so much interest in making your bases look the best they can. You won't be disappointed. You are most welcome. Again, I hope you enjoy the supplies and please let us know how they work out for you. Pictures would be great!

Another update: I've got some individual basing supplies up now. LEAF SCATTER STATIC GRASS More will be added soon.

First things first, sorry for the poor picture quality. I'm not a photographer by trade...anything more than point, click and shoot is far too confusing for me. You'll just have to trust me that my paint jobs look far better "in person". So with that being said, here's Seamus. He's on a cobblestone basing insert made by yours truly. He was painted entirely with RMS and VGC paints. Total time it took from prep to seal = 4 hours. Not my best work, but decent...I think. Here's a back side shot. Love to hear what you think, I'm always trying to improve.

Typically, I will basecoat the fur area (coarse or fine) 2 or 3 shades lighter than I want to the color to be. I then wash that with a color that's about 2 shades darker than I want the fur to be. I will then drybrush 3 successively lighter colors to achieve the color I want. I'll then pick out highlights with white or bone color.

If there was ever a "Need More Nipples Society" I would surely be a member...if not the chairman. I could never tire of nipples in real life, why would it be different in miniature format? I love em' all. :tongue2:

My my my...what a wonderfully evil painted little kid. Excellent!

Charlie was a great actor, made some influential/inspiring movies. Long live his legacy.