Grayscale for Dummies

I'm writing a grant proposal for class... except I started 7 hours ago and now I'm crazy.  It's beginning to get to me, so I spent 15 minutes working on the chain mail change everyone's been suggesting for my Nurgle Chaos Knight.

For reference, I used the grayscale pic from the last post.  You know what?  It works... I guess those good painters know a thing or three after all.  So I tried it with another miniature.

Point is, it's effective.  And two posts for basically no effort - that's never bad.

By The Power of Grayscale..!

K.blas from Painting with Coffee took the time to turn my Chaos Knight all gray and stuff!  His point?  The tonal quality of the paintjob is very similar; where's the contrast?

The Chaos Knight of Nurgle in gray...

The original picture.

This is a learning moment! C'mon - have at the model!

A Cup and a Chaos Knight

Here's my Empty Blue Digital Headache dice cup complete with Avatar lid.  There were a lot of positive comments on Bell today, so I went and took a picture of my cup, which wasn't in the article.  You could say Big Whit and the boys are locked in to this kind of work.

Here's the BSMoove recipe Chaos Knight Mark II.  I think it's getting there... what do you fine folks (and the MM(esno)) think?  It's not quite done but it's close enough that you can draw judgement.

An Ewok Interlude

During my Cross-Circulation Geekdom Tour of 2010, when I visited the Dallas ComicCon with the Off Topical boys, there was one 15 minute period that made it all worthwhile.  In that brief span of time we got to meet and take pictures with Admiral Adama and Kat from Battlestar Galactica - and that was very, very cool.

But my favorite moment had to be meeting Mike Edmonds, the dude who played Logray and Jaba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.  He was simply very, very cool.  What's great is he got a kick out of watching us get a kick out of meeting him.

My brother asked him to make it out to Strictly Average - that made my week!

This is Mike Edmonds inside the Jabba the Hutt mega-muppet.

Telion

In the fluff, Telion is loaned out to other Space Marine Chapters to train their Scouts... so I didn't see an issue painting him as he should be, all Ultramarine style.  He'll roll with whomever.

New Dark Eldar Images / Models

I don't usually post or repost GW images or news - I let Bell do that kind of thing... but this is Dark Eldar, and these are too exciting.  If you haven't seen these already: enjoy!

Odder and Enders... (or something like that)

Okay, double post today.  I was disgusted at my laziness in showing you, my chickies, my (not-so) adoring fans INFERIOR pictures!

Simply because I haven't set up my light studio.

After my Odds and Ends post, I forced myself to enter my gameroom (pigsty) and straighten up.  Then I reshot, reedited, and reuploaded some pictures for you.

Here's what I'm currently toying with.

Odds and Ends

So, not to be deterred by my rust effect failure, I'm back at it today with some new test models.

By the way, if you haven't already, please check out my article on Blood of Kittens.

I normally work on at least two different minis at once, especially when I'm inking or overbrushing a model, simply so I'll have something to work on while I'm waiting for paint to dry.

Because nothing is worse than waiting for paint to dry.

I have a double-handfull of these secondary models laying around.  Usually it's a test for some technique or scheme - something I don't care about or isn't for an army.

That's what the model to the left is.

Marines commonly favor bright, primary colored armor, so I thought...

Chaos Knight Test Model

It's not a great picture.

I've been spoiled by the light studio, but I haven't set it up in its new spot and didn't want to wait.

Anyway, I'm building my new Warriors of Chaos army as a fast moving Calvary and Monsters army.  The armor is going to be rusted...

At least, that's the plan!

I've reached out to BSMoove from A Gentleman's Ones.  I followed his recipe, but obviously I'm doing something wrong, since it doesn't look like his stuff.

If he doesn't see it here I'll shoot him some pics.

Blah!  I'm being wordy for no reason.

Any advice out there?

(The pics really aren't that great - I think I'll go set up my studio.  I may end up editing this post later.)

A Discussion of Comp and Factors for Winning

Really, honestly, actually on the Dallas Aquarium.

Let's say this right out: this is a long-running issue and the lines are drawn.  I doubt this post will change anyone's mind, but it's a topic that's interesting since I'm attending Da Boyz GT later this year.

Hey!  Go check out these articles if you haven't already: Mass Murderers as Nicknames and Defining the Assumptions in Wargaming.  Also, make sure you vote in last week's Friday Night Internet Fight; I'd hate to lose this one!

That's right: me, Goatboy, and Darkwynn are hopping a plane to Rochester, New York in November to participate... along the way we'll meet new friends and old...

...cue butt-grabbing and much hugging...

Hello, Ego? How About a Slapping?

Ego is thinking you can make Footdar work against your nemesis.

Have I mentioned I'm attending Da Boyz GT in Rochester, New York in November?

I'm making the trip with Thomas and Nick, Goatboy and Darkwynn respectively - they talked me into it!

I'll finally get a chance to meet the man with the plan, good ol' Chumby himself.  He's attended the event's primer and made something of a splash... how, you say?  By playing his game.

Day Boyz is a heavily comp'd event.  How's that for a kick in the pants!  So Chumby caused a splash by playing a hard army in a fluff fight.  Who should change?

Should anyone?

Look, I'll be honest here - the Battle for Salvation is much more my speed and there's a big part of me that regrets we're not attending that one.  Still...

...and this is a big still...

...Da Boyz is an established event with a great reputation.  I'm sure I'll have a good time.  I just have to decide how I want to play.

Two Thoughts to Think

In a game this is an appropriate base for a Khornate Champion, but in the real world it's a horrifying reminder of the atrocity man has perpetrated on man.

So I don't leave you with that, here's something lighthearted: it's proof Dethtron always wins.

UPDATE!

This is what's up today... see what I mean?

Strategy vs Tactics

CliffNotes:  Sometimes it's a good idea to examine what we think we know.  If you want the bottom line to all this talkie-talkie, just read the lines in BOLD.

I believe that in all areas of life, and if I have a strength it's an almost overwhelming self-awareness... which I earned the hard way.

Don't worry, I won't bore you with the theory; that's my profession and I'm sure the concepts doesn't excite others the way it does me.  Point is, we don't know ourselves or our ideas as well as we think we do.  A good way to test your understanding is to say it out loud or to try to explain it in new terms to another.

Shaggoth: For No Apparent Reason

Plastics Make it Possible

I snagged this picture from Ye Ol' Blogosphere and I love it on a bunch of different levels.

If I knew who did it I'd be happy to give him credit, but I've lost track of the notes I made that day.  It was back when I was Stealing Content.

Yes, it's capitalized!  I stopped that series 'cause I ain't good with links.

This is an example of kit-bashing at its finest.  I count pieces from 5 different armies but they gel beautifully to make one great centerpiece.  A bit of cardstock and greenstuff later and voila!

Il y a tres beau miniature.  C'est vrai.

So, why am I bringing it up today?

Because it makes for an easy post.

Because I'm inspired I am!

I've been busy busy busy but the busy busy busy is passing.  I'm ready to dive in to hobby content on a number of different levels.

Evil Homer: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Part I

So, Evil Homer is back after a long hiatus. What does a fanged-cartoon character who is sometimes evil-funny and sometimes evil-scary do in his spare time? You're going to find out... and it will blow you away. Seriously!  It's that epic.  Follow along over the next several Tuesdays as Evil Homer shows you a glimpse in to the mind of a madman.

Every obsession has a beginning. My newest obsession started with hate.

Sometimes you hate a model so much you just can't bring yourself to put it on the table. That's me. I hate the GW Plaguebearers. I play Deamons in both systems. That's a problem no matter how you slice it.

Themed Armies: A New Series

Every cat is a critic.

So the basic idea is can themed lists work across multiple armies - and the short answer is I have no idea.

CliffNotes: We compare two Plasma Gun Themed armies.

Let's explore what we know.

A Mono-God army is possible in Chaos Space Marine and Chaos Daemon lists, and while that might be fun to explore in the future, it's not a concept that's possible across a spectrum of armies, so that's out.

The Homage Army

Before I move on, I should point out Aventine won 2nd place in the Sunday Consolation RTT at WarGames Con.  I failed to mention that yesterday!

So I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Westin Park Central Hotel in Dallas, Texas, typing out this quick post for the day.  Jenn is a huge Dave Matthews fan, so she bought tickets for his 9/11 show the day they came out.

We're in the front, in the middle - I can throw my underwear at him, if I want!

Which I might.

Evil Homer is taking his lovely wife to the show as well.  He's making the trip in from North Texas, so we're all going to hang out for a bit in the city.  Fun stuff.

Aventine, Oh My Aventine!

Here we are, Game 7 of WarGames Con - the last and final game.

As I'm moving my stuff, TastyTaste comes over to my table and tells me I'm in the running for the second day RTT.  I didn't believe him.

We also worked out the bit about cheating; check out this video.  What's most funny is the bit that went right over everyone's heads... watch the video then Google 'Double-Knuckle Shuffle.'  There was a reason I said Aventine would go right over the table at me!

Good times, good times.

Sabol Studios: A Must See for Terrain

It's funny what gets noticed.  I used pictures from my collection of a ruined Cathedral that my Indentured Servant Herr Fernseher snapped at WarGames Con for my Bell of Lost Souls article yesterday.

Whew!  What a sentence; I think it's properly crafted but someone tell me if a phrase or clause is out of place.

Anyway, I had several people ask about it so I dropped the rest of the pics in a post yesterday.  Someone from Sabol Studios dropped by to kindly point out I wasn't giving them proper credit.

This is me correcting that!  Check it out - it's a pretty incredible collection.

SABOL STUDIOS

Pegasus Gothic Ruins

Here are the rest of the pics from my album that I used for my Bell article today.  They speak for themselves - very cool.

More Cross Circulation Geekdom

*EDITED POST*

Speaking of Bell, could enough people climb out of the basement to make fun of my hair? Seriously, how little do they know me? I go all week wearing a square-cut - if I want to wear a faux-hawk to the ComicCon, who cares? It's a ComicCon! Who, exactly, should I try to impress?

I swear, I'd grow a mullet for the weekends if I could... I work hard enough during the week that I sincerely, 100%, positively don't care once Saturday rolls around - but enough of all that! Here's the cream de la cream of Cross Circulation Geekdom videos.

Tom's Daemons, Part the Third

Finally!

I find myself apologizing a lot lately for failing to post daily; I think I'll avoid doing that again until I can actually start publishing regularly again!  I think I'm okay now, but frankly I've been a bit surprised about how fast time has been slipping through my fingers.

CliffNotes: Brent finally writes Part III of the Tom's Daemons saga.  Finally!

Okay, let's recap...

Painting Blank Eyes

Here's a short tutorial today.  In the comments section of my most recent article on Bell of Lost Souls, Not Another Exodite Army, there were a few requests (one) for how I painted the eyes on my Slannesh themed Eldar.

CliffNotes: Brent takes credit for an idea Little Barrera had.

Basically, the eyes have no pupil...