Struggling with the BoLS Daemon Series

The following is a section I cut from today's Terrible Tuesday Bell of Lost Soul's article.  Sometimes you gotta edit, and this didn't belong, being interesting but not pertinent.  Still, it does explain my views on articles in general, so some few may be interested.

The Importance of Doin' It Up Right

Writing last week's article was tough; harder by far than any other article.  Heck, any other series of articles, or combine two or three of the articles that felt like birthing a True-Scale Space Marine...

...and none of them compare.  This is brutal.

Don't believe me?

For those of you who've followed the Terrible Tuesday (and yeah, sometimes it's Wednesday) series over two years and 97 98 articles have probably realized I closely follow the comments.  It's part of my style to avoid talking out a subject as an attempt to encourage you, Oh Faithful Reader, to take the time to jot a thought or three.  Following comments, particularly by those of you who do so frequently, is part of the satisfaction derived from maintaining a competitive slot on Bell of Lost Souls.

Last week, I couldn't even look.

Batch Painting with an Airbrush

So, 68 Genestealers to paint - and they came in all red and blotchy.

Video: Terrain as Per the Book in a 2K Game

The Mighty Mighty Carlos and I played a game last week at 2K; me with Sisters and allied Eldar and he with double Bastions and Imperial Fists.

My 2K Sisters has four squads of Sisters of Battle, four Exorcists, Jacobus with Crusaders and Assassins, Celestine, a Farseer (for psychic defense and jankiness), Pathfinders, and a Fortification with a Quad Gun.

Gak! 'Net Down, Disconnected!

As the title suggests, I've been off the grid since last week.  A lightning storm killed my internet.

And my couch.  Stupid electric old-person recliner - I was perfectly content with manual models.  Now the recliners are in a permanent state of... excitement.

I won't bore you with my "the ISP took freakin' forever story" as you no doubt have one of your own.  Getting *SELF-EDIT* by utilities is a Universal Truth, along with, "Underwear is never clean in an accident, so why wear it?"

Hey, I don't make the rules.

This is a short post, largely because the technician just left and I have to head back to work.  Here are some pics to try and begin catching up on my posting.

Imperial Catachans and Ethnic Diversity

I painted up these Catachans over the last week and some, but bogged down when it came to different shades of skin.

BoLS Terrible Tuesday, Leftovers

The Terrible Tuesday BoLS article was on budget terrain.  Given there were more than the usual number of unused pictures, I decided to drop them in an article here.  Leftovers, as it were.

(As an aside - doh!  I finished at like, 11:57pm!  Way past deadline, even for me.  Larry probably dreads Monday nights.)

Laying out the bits, seeing what inspires.

Feast Invitational, 8/4: Galaxy in Wichita Falls, TX!

"We'll be there!"  (No they won't.)

Galaxy Books and Comics is hosting a Feast of Blades Invitational this Saturday, the 4th of August.

Feast Invitational, North Texas!

It's Monday - so register for this Saturday's Feast of Blades Invitational at Galaxy Books and Comics in Wichita Falls, Texas already!

Feast of Blades: Saturday August 4, 2012
Registration starts at 9:30 am
Game time starts at 10:00 am
Painting points applied to event.
All players must turn in army list two days before tournament date to reserve your spot in the tournament.
Send all list to: info@galaxycomics.net.
Lists turned in on time will be billed the $10.00 entry fee.
Army list turned in after the deadline will not be guaranteed a spot in the tournament for spots are limited to 16 spots.
Lists not turned in on time will be billed $15.00 to enter.
All players must have a copy of their army list.
All players must have a copy of the army codex you are playing.
All players must have their own copy of the rule book, NO PDF.
All armies must be represented with what they are equipped with.
To obtain painting/base bonus army must have at least three colors in appropriate locations.(if applied)
All army list must have on them: Player Name, What Army You are Playing, e-mail address.
All winnings must be used up 30 days after end of event or you for-fit your prize winnings.
Can not use tournament winnings to pay for other events.

From the Feast of Blades site:

- Qualifiers will be played at 1999+1 points. (no 2 FOC)- Qualifiers will be played "by the book!" with the following exceptions below
- Qualifiers will NOT be using "mysterious terrain" rules.
- Qualifiers will NOT be using "Archotech artifacts" rules (p 106)
- Qualifiers will NOT be using "unique terrain" rules (p. 107)
- Qualifiers will NOT be using "Warlord Traits" rules
- Qualifiers will NOT be using "Mysterious Objectives"

What are you waiting for?  There are only 16 spots in all, and more than half are gone!

Yeah, you missed out. :)

North Texas Feast of Blades Invitational!

Guess there's always the finals...

...but we have room for 16 and the expectation is we'll fill up.

Airbrushing Tyranids: Completed and WiP

These Nid models aren't Bugs! - 'cause Bugs! are older than some of you and aren't nearly so done.

No, this army belongs to the Client Pimp in Question, and I'm satisfied that these are complete.

Khorne Herald on Chariot

Here's an example of a model that got better with 6th Edition!  A charge range of 2d6, a collar for psychic defense, and a rending high-strength attack are all pretty darn nifty.

Especially the increased charge range!  I never used these in 6th 'cause a Strictly Average 6" was never long enough.

Anyway, I built and painted this dude in the last 24-hours for the Little Tim That Could - something to supplement his Chaos army.

This is 95% airbrushing, and most of it was done before breakfast then after lunch yesterday.  Details went on this morning before work, and I just now took these pictures lunchtime of day two.

Finally! Finished Grey Knight Commission

The title says it all; this is the first commission work I've taken on that involved painting a complete army.  It's fair to say it became somewhat laborious; the scheme I chose was designed for a tabletop level of quality, but when the second owner wanted a higher level, it actually worked against me.

Still, no regrets; I learned more about speed painting and pitfalls and pricing and time management and whew! loads of other stuff that it was well worth it.

Here is the LINK for the Bell of Lost Souls Article.  Here is the LINK for the first batch of completed models (remember to hit 'more' for the actual pictures).

On Tyranids for 6th Edition 40K

Bugs!

The Black Blowfly or the Big Black Fiend - Steve! - wrote an article on Bell this morning outlining his thoughts on Tyranids.  Check it out - here's the LINK.

Anyway, it prompted me to jot down some of my thoughts, which I'll apply to my Bugs! army.  I enjoy Necrons, but for a variety of reasons I'm pulling out Sisters of Battle and Bugs! to work on over the next year.  Not sure which will become my primary tournament army just yet, but I'm on record saying Tyranids are going to be brutal in 6th Edition...

A Decade of Pictures, Part 1: Find My Favorite

I've carried a camera to RTT's and local tournaments long before forums or blogging were popular - certainly longer than when I developed an Empty Digital Headache and foisted it on the unsuspecting public!

There are thousands - and I'm going to share them, good, bad, and indifferent. For Part 1, all I did was scroll through the library picking likely subjects...

...including my all-time favorite picture. Never before seen! You'll smile and cringe at the same time.

Painting Tanks: Airbrushing and Weathering

I have a lot of thoughts on 6th but feel no great urgency to write them.  I'm having too much fun painting and playing right now, thus the hiatus from regular blogging on Strictly Average.  Generally, I try to stick to at least three posts a week - so here's to getting off my dead booty and writing some.

Anyway, I've mentioned a time or three that currently I'm learning to use an airbrush.  Lots of little tricks to work out, but it's starting to feel natural.  I painted three tanks yesterday, using them to try out weathering models.

The hatches are an effort in masking techniques...

...like so.

I did some 'easy rust' effects, again as practice and to see how the effect would work.  I shouldn't have included the tank tracks, and next time won't.

I'm not terribly happy with the weathering on the model closest to this shot; the two patches of silver on top are a bit too regular.  Live and learn.

I could certainly do more - especially detailing and highlights - but these aren't actually my models...

Airbrushing Nids, Monstrous Creatures WiP

Okay, here are better pictures... and with my family-famous sleep-walking insomnia (that's actually me, but okay) I was up early working on the Swarm Lord.

Swarmy isn't done, but it's as close as I can get with the airbrush.  At this point, I'll wash parts of the model and detail a bit of the face - but if ever your favorite Empty Digital Headache hopes to significantly dent his To-Do list...

...I'll have to pursue painting armies and not models.  Here's the Mawloc.

And the Trygon.

Here's better pictures of Swarmy.  The green washes will really make the glow effect pop.  (He hopes.) I hope.

The Client Pimp in Question doesn't want me working on the bases.

The workspace.  I've started using pointed Q-Tips and a minimal amount of cleaner between colors to keep the airbrush flowing properly and minimize cleanup time.

Finally! Finished Mawloc (using airbrush)

Slowly but surely I'm teaching myself how to use an airbrush... and more than anything it's a tool that requires the time-in to learn.  You just have to get used to it.

Anyway, these pictures suck - doing neither model justice - but it's late and I'm tired and so my, "I don't care," is at its peak.

Not Brent?

Oh, no.

It's like the Christmas song's first verse and I'm the Little Lamb.  Now I've got to worry about a whole new level of identity theft.

Rusted Necrons: Update on Progress

This army is at the details stage, with the Flayed Ones requiring the most remaining work.  Here's a few pics that includes some detail missing from the Work in Progress shots I took before the tournament this past weekend.

A storm lord of any stripe needs a lightning rod.

WarGames Con Witching Hour Update

Gak!  It's already Saturday, and Lordy but I need some sleep!

Gauthic and I teamed up for the team tournament today under the name 'Not Another Grey Knights Army.'  We weren't really prepared for this, since my partner was supposed to be the Card Pimp in Question.  But he abandoned the cause, choosing his new job and existing relationship over a weekend trip to compete in an edition that will soon go the way of the Dodo.

Smart guy.  Work and family come first.  For my own part, this trip is on a shoestring budget...

Leaving Out: Morning Of... What's Up With That?

Morning of... *sigh*

Worked late spraying wash on the models...

More WiP Rusted Necrons... Night Before the Trip

It's a bit after midnight and I've got a full day of work before leaving tomorrow for Austin.  So where am I at?

(PS:  Overwatch, I'll be there this weekend, and in the tournament.  That said... with the end of 5th my competitive spirit has suffered.  That's reflected in the army I'm bringing, which is much more fluffy than fighty.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting you - make sure you introduce yourself, man!)

So stippling my undercoat took longer than I wanted... and so did drybrushing the silver topcoat.  I deviated greatly from Brian's recipe (see last post for the link) at this point, simply because my silver turned out much more pronounced!  Truth be told, it wasn't what I intended.

Rusted Necrons, Batch Painting for WarGames Con

Here's where I'm at... finishing the metal drybrush shouldn't take much more time, then it's on to washes, glows, and detailing..  The final steps will be airbrushed, with the exception of the Stormlord.

WiP: 2K Necrons for Wargames Con

If I don't make good progress today, I'm sunk!  Luckily, I've been planning this out for months - it's just time to put my money where my mouth is.

So to speak.  Let's walk through the process so far, and note I'm going to be using Brian's (A Gentleman's Ones) rust recipe, with some minor variations,  so follow the LINK for a perusal then hurry back!

Cleaning:  Many of the models had to be dropped in the bath...

The Heavy Flamers! (and Ferrus Manus too...)

Still plugging away - all the Necrons and Nids for this weekend's Wargames con are base painted, so it's on to airbrushing and detailing.  Given that time is quickly running away with me, I'm going for a solid 'army appearance' in general with more attention paid to the characters.  More on that tomorrow.

Until then, here's a cool pic of Ferrus Manus - proxied as a Grey Knight at Adepticon, 'cause why not, said the new owner - and some super-awesome pics of the Heavy Flamers!  Woot!

Freak Flex Paints - Transferring Bottles

Some pics from a video I'm working on.  Basically, I'm transferring my Freak Flex airbrush paints - which are great - from the bottles they are in - which are horrible - to some bottles I bought at Michaels.  Which are back to great... you get the idea!

Too Many Projects, Too Little Time

...and Wargames Con is just around the corner!  Here's some of what I'm working on.  When you get to the end, if you're thinking, "Boy, Brent's working on everything but what he should be finishing for the Con," then you're seeing clearly.

This is the only project that really needs doing.  I really love my Freak Flex airbrush paints, but the container sucks.  I've purchased these inexpensive, airtight bottles to transfer the collection to.  Note it has a flip-top, which will make it MUCH, MUCH easier to load the airbrush properly, with minimal waste.

Quickie Orky Conversions...

So this week's Terrible Tuesday article covered spray paints, with next's week's planned to move on to air brushing.

Admittedly, with an air brush I'm still very much an amateur, but I'm learning!  Generally speaking, right now I'm using spray paints for priming, air brushes for basic paint coverage, and traditional brushes for detail work.  Much like learning any new skill, I'm taking a step back to take two forward.

Necro-Nid WiP... (BioPsychoAntiSocial)

I've been dropping shots of my work in progress 'Necro-Nid,' but after talking to Everyone Brother From Another Mother Big Whit on Friday, I realized it's a bit difficult to tell where I'm going with it.

This will correct that.

You see, his 'head' is meant to be a hologram projector, where this piece - from Greenman Designs Inc - will fit in, my homage to RoboCop II.

Nothing to See Here! (WarGames Con Prep)

I'm generally unworried about the type and frequency of content here on Strictly Average; my 'serious' blogging commitment is the BoLS Terrible Tuesday series...

...but this week even that wasn't available!

It's a short week at work, a holiday week, and I'm driving myself in the evenings with learning my airbrush.

I have to say, much of that is learning to mix the colors and keep them thin.  That, and cleaning the airbrush.  Over and over.  It'll get easier, I'm thinking.  Almost has to.

Right?

Anyway, if anyone has any good, basic links I'm all for it.  Help an Empty Digital Headache out!

(Since I don't like to post without pics, here's some stuff for my Warhammer Beastmen army.)