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Magius

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About Magius

  • Birthday 08/23/1981

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  1. 9781 completed as of 08/24/11 17:25. 2 sets each of the three Terraclips sets, plus 6 sets of clips. I'm going to have one heck of a build once all that gets here. Magius out.
  2. I'm going to take a different approach and offer up my experience with (about) the cheapest of the cheap - Anita's Craft Paints. I use these for pretty much everything I do (except pale skin tones... Theirs gives a rather... bloodless look), and I get some really good results with them. Best part about them is their price, though - ~$1 per bottle, which gives you at least 3x the amount of paint as the other brands (I've seriously only finished off 2-3 bottles from all the minis I've painted, and that was after painting a 4'x6' terrain set). The paints also break down into really nice washes, though I've also had good experiences with the Citadel washes. For the skintone, I use the Citadel skintones, but I've been thinking about giving the Reaper triads a try (it helps that they're arranged in sets of three, which is how I paint). The most important thing, however, is to experiment with a range of different brands and color combinations. Finally, Prime Your Minis! I cannot stress the importance of this (especially on plastic minis) enough. This will help define the nature of your paint job - a white base will really make your minis pop on the table, a black base will help give you some really good looking shadows and crevasses, and a grey base will make the paint look the most like it does on/in the bottle. Magius out.
  3. There are a bunch of options to fit every price range. On the cheap end, you have the minis wrapped in a soft tissue in a Tupperware container; you can either purchase magnetized bases, or add magnets to your bases (either superglue them in or Greenstuff them in) and use a metal toolbox to transport them (absolutely no chance of chipping from contact with other materials, but can be quite heavy in comparison - plus, you can put a layer of ferrous metal on your steeper terrain and don't have to worry about the minis falling over); you can use cheap fishing tackle boxes, but that leaves you open to breakages. Personally, I find the Cases to be the best option, as the bigger cases can easily handle 5-6 times their money's worth in minis (my Warmachine bag, which is getting close to full now, holds almost all of my painted Warmachine, Hordes, and Malifaux miniatures - which accounts for several hundred dollars worth of minis - not bad for a $150 price tag). Magius out.
  4. Here's the Reaper Mini site for the model: http://www.reapermini.com/FigureFinder#detail/02674 And here's the link for the mini on my favorite online reseller: http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=6880 It's a bit cheaper at the latter, but unfortunately currently out of stock. Magius out.
  5. As the Rogue Necromancy is basically an undead Chimera (in the literal mythical sense, not the modern idea of it being a fusion of two or more creatures), I'd recommend starting with that as a base - for example, the Chimera model from Reaper's Dark Haven Legends line: Add some undead construct traits to it, and it should be pretty much perfect for a conversion (note that I do not own, nor have I worked with, this model). Magius out.
  6. Thanks for the comments. I try to fit the base to the models, so the Guild are in a barren desert, Marcus is in the middle of a grassy field, Collette and the girls are on stage, the gremlins in the middle of a watery bayou, Pandora and her woes in a padded room in an insane asylum, and Kirai's spirits and The Dreamer's Nightmares emerging from a dense fog. I'm not sure quite when I'll get to my next batch of minis, but keep an eye here for when I get them all bought, painted up, and ready for viewing. Magius out.
  7. Huge batch of minis this update... 4 starter boxes assembled, primed, painted, and sealed in just under a week: So, without further ado, I present you with Som'er Teeth, Ophelia, Seamus, and Kirai with their default crews: And, finally, my whole Wyrd collection to date: This was the first time I've tried doing a bayou-style base, and I steered away from going the standard route of making it a bubbling cesspool. Just a gentle slope into some muddy water, and I think it gives it a good look. If you're wondering, the background for this set is one of the pieces from the GW Terrain Tile system that I've painted and flocked. Magius out.
  8. Let's start with what you got right. The eyes actually look pretty good on this mini (not the best I've seen, granted, but still a lot better than I can do), and you did a very good job on the hair. Now to the easiest fix - I'd recommend hitting the model with some flat sealer to cut the glossy reflection off the model - Krylon Flat Sealer or Testor's Dullcote depending on if you used a Laquer-based or Acrylic-Based sealer (respectively) for the gloss sealer. I'll leave the rest to someone who won't be quite as blunt as I'm inclined to be, but I will say that working on your blending on the clothes, and learning a good technique for drawing lines on clothes like what she's wearing would go quite a ways toward making the model look better. Magius out.
  9. Any craft store should have all of those in stock. I know Hobby Lobby has them (though you'll have to look in the Model Car isle for the Testors and the Canvas Paint isle for the Krylon), and I know that Ace Hardware carries the Krylon sealers. Hope that helps. Magius out.
  10. Final bit of advice on this subject: Seal your model. Once you've painted your model, the last thing you want to have happen is for the paint to chip off of it. Sealing the model will help prevent that. There are a lot of options for this step, just like everything else, and you'll need to experiment to find what works best for you. High gloss sealers provide a highly protective finish, but are extremely shiny (much more than you want for most cases), while flat sealers don't provide nearly as much protection. You also need to decide between a dip sealer (many of which also provide some shading, much like a wash, but IME are far too thick for my tastes), a brush on sealer (best balance between coverage and thickness, but is much more time consuming than the alternatives), or a spray on sealer. For me, what I use is a technique called Bullet Coating, which I apply using the following: 1) Testors Glosscote (Laquer-based glossy sealer) 2) Krylon Crystal Clear Sealer (Acrylic-based glossy sealer) 3) Testors Dullcote (Laquer-based flat sealer) 4) Krylon Sealer (Acrylic-Based flat sealer) Wait 15 minutes between each coat, and you're good to go. It's relatively expensive, but by alternating between a Laquer and an Acrylic sealer, you ensure that each layer remains separate, making the model much more difficult to chip, and you get the best of both worlds by applying the flat sealers over the gloss sealers (if you've done it right, you shouldn't be able to tell the model's been sealed at all). You can also apply PVA glue over any areas that would be prone to chipping (cape edges, pointing fingers, tips of caps, etc) to strengthen the protection if you want (I've done this on a few models, and it does work rather well). That should give you models that you can play with for years to come - and you should be able to get a few dozen models sealed before you need to get a new set of cans (though you'll go through ~twice as many cans of Testors than of Krylon, simply because the Testors cans are about half the size). Magius out.
  11. Let me say again, that you should be able to salvage the model with a good drybrush of the base skin tone over it (I would recommend trying that before you start over on the model). It'll save time overall for it. Another thing to keep in mind for the future is that if you realize that you've put too much wash on is to immediately grab an unused brush or piece of paper towel and wick away the excess wash. It's not going to get all of the wash (and I generally find this leaves unsatisfactory results), but it will save a little bit of time going back in and redoing everything. Magius out.
  12. To expand on the "light wash" comment above, you want to apply just enough of the wash to give the surface you're washing a wet sheen. If you can't make out the details of the model through the wash, you've put it on way too thick, and it will color everything far more than you want. Keep in mind that it's easier to do another wash than it is to take back a wash you've already done. On the other hand, drybrushing over a wash can go a long ways toward getting the detailed back from an overzealous wash. Just make sure the wash is dry first... [edit] Well, I think that right there's going to be part of your problem. Unless you're using a drybrushing technique (in which case, the thicker paint generally is better), most paints are generally too thick to be useful out of the pot (Anita's generally isn't too bad, but I digress), and need to be watered down before being used (as explained above). This is especially true as the paint gets older, as the water evaporates from the pot until you're just left with a solid block of unused paint (hopefully years from now, but still something to beware of). IIRC (I generally use drybrushing, so I don't really worry about getting my paints the right consistency), you're looking for something about the thickness of milk, to give it a good base coat.[/edit] Magius out.
  13. Another thing to note, instead of buying a new model every time the one you're painting comes out poorly (though you do definitely want to have a good selection of minis to practice with) is a simple investment in a product called Simple Green. Drop a model you've painted and aren't happy with in that stuff overnight, brush off the excess, rinse it off and it's ready to be put back together and painted again (it does tend to destroy the bond from superglue). I would recommend keeping at least one of your early models intact so you have something to measure your progress against. It will make you feel a lot better about the job you're doing. Another thing to note is that you should never judge how a model is looking until it's done. I've had several cases where I felt the model was looking horrendous halfway through, only to have it look quite good when I've finished. As for your most recent model, here's something to try: 1) Make sure the wash is dry (this is important) 2) Try taking the flesh tone that you used to base coat the face, and put it on a paper towel with your brush. 3) Run the brush against the paper towel about a dozen times to wipe off the excess paint 4) Lightly and repeatedly run the brush over the face, reloading the brush from the excess on the paper towel if need be (you shouldn't have to if you're just doing the face). 5) Let us know how that comes out. That should give the face quite a bit more definition, and be a good introduction to drybrushing for you. Magius out.
  14. There are a lot of different paints out there to try, and they can have a huge impact on the look of a model. Personally, I use Anita's craft paint (large pot of relatively low-quality paint compared to GW, Reaper, or Vallejo, but only costs $1 for 2-3x the amount of paint, and generally comes out looking pretty good) for most of my models, but I stick with the GW fleshtones for Caucasian skin tones (the generic skintones that I had been using didn't have a very lifelike tone to them, making them look bloodless and pale). You may also want to experiment with different techniques. Drybrushing (load up your brush with paint, then wipe it on a paper towel before applying to a model) will give you a good looking mini without a lot of effort/time investment, but can really kill your brushes; A Layering/Wash technique takes a little more time and effort, but could also give some good results (either using several similar colors applied dark-bright, or a single translucent color applied multiple times over a black base; both cases using a darker wash to blend the layers together); wet blending can give some incredible results, but is easy to mess up and is a very time-consuming method; a pure wash technique (applying one or more washes over a white primer) can create some very striking results, but it can be more difficult to control where the wash goes than in other methods. You should also experiment with different base colors for your Primer. The three typically used are Black (provides instant shadows, very forgiving on forgetting to paint a spot, makes it more difficult to get a good contrast, tends to make colors a lot darker), Grey (neutral base, colors stay true to how they're advertised, easy to pick out details before starting to paint), and White (colors come out bright and crisp, takes to washes like it was made for them, unforgiving of mistakes, and is quite easy to create contrasting colors with). Finally, give it time. It took me hundreds of models for me to refine my technique to the point it is now (a full Warmachine army, a start on Hordes, and half of a Warhammer 40k army before it finally clicked together), and I'm still finding and trying different things to improve. As for the glue, again, you have many options. You have standard superglue, you have the modeling glue you can get from Hobby Lobby, but the glue that I've found works the best overall is the Gorilla Glue Super Glue. VERY durable, and stands up to a lot of abuse once it dries (well, a lot more than anything else I've tried...). I've had a Dire Troll Mauler fall ~4' headfirst onto a wooden deck without the glue giving - on the other hand, I've had a Khador Behemoth drop about the same distance and break off it's leg (danged single joint holding up that monstrosity). It also has a metal bit on it that keeps the glue channel open and free, which gives each bottle a much longer life than previous bottles (one bottle has handled all of my Warmachine/Hordes and Malifaux minis, with is a substantial amount). Magius out.
  15. If you're just going for a straightforward deserty-type base, why not just go the cheapest route and use real sand? A $3 tube from the hardware store will last you for thousands of models (seriously, after handling all of my Warhammer 40k, Warmachine, Hordes (Twice!), and now Malifaux miniatures, I'm only 1/10 of the way through the bucket I filled with it), and you have a variety of things you can do with it - paint the model then use it as is; paint the model, glue on the sand, then apply a wash; glue it on with the model and paint it along with the model (what I usually do). You can find scenery pieces to add to it from a model train store (lichen for tumbleweeds, flock, static grass, etc) to give it a more varied appearance without a huge increase in price (though finding a small enough quantity for a single base may be problematic). For an example of the effect this can have, I point you to my Santiago Ortego model:
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