Merry Christmas!

And so, we mark another year together.  Be excellent to each other.

Hot off the Desk: Shadows of Brimstone Doomsday Device

Ready for some Doom(tm).

This one is so fresh that I'm not sure the last bits of paint are actually cured.

I bought the Doomsday Device when it first became available, and put it on the shelf.  I suppose it didn't strike me as the most interesting piece, and it sat there for 2 (if not 3?) years. 

However, more recently, I've been playing with Airbrushing and inks and weathering.  Aha! Now it's the perfect subject of a quick project.

I intentionally didn't make all the model prep perfect.  Apparently, the master for this model is 3D printed, as the telltale line texture is found throughout.  Also, I can tell that my particular mold was pretty rough; most of the underhangs were starting to tear out.  I scraped a bit, and gave it a couple of layers of Vallejo Matt Varnish to smooth the worst of the worst.  But in the end, this was supposed to be a fast project to get some terrain on the table.

All four pieces started with black Stynlrez primer and then a 3-color stack of greens applied with the airbrush.  I was going for more of a lime green than a John Deere green, so I also applied some Vivid Lime Green ink as a highlight.

Here the smaller parts are basecoated.  The gold hoses are a blend of AP Stone Brown, Scale 75 Necro Gold, and S75 Dwarven Gold for a highlight.  First use of the S75 paints - they lived up to expectations and worked really well.

WIP shot, still working on gold bits.

I decided that the center vent-thing-whatever was actually a Darkstone Reactor.  I went in with the Sotar (airbrush) and applied a blast of Reaper Pure White, then AP Darkstone Purple (from the SoB set), then another dash of pure White in the center.

More colors added for bits.  Here I'm about to start weathering/shading. I would later decide that the reactors needed a splash of yellow to be convincing.

Basecoating is done on the big piece, you can see the yellow splash in the reactors here.  I'm also starting to shade in the silver stacks.

 

Ready for shading.  Adding S75 Necro Gold to all the rivets really brought this piece to life.

 

Complete set, on the Derelict Ship map tile.

Zoxe Project Status - October 2018

Well, fudgepickles.  Halloween came and went and I never once thought about doing a ZPS.  It's now almost halfway through the month, but I'd still like to make the entry.

Honestly, though, I've been limping along with a persistent case of black death (sinus infection) and the last week really hasn't been all that productive anyway.

1. On the Table:

• Shadows of Brimstone - This will be a single entry here because it's been THE THING going on.  I updated my storage, inventoried expansions and cards, and otherwise just plain got organized.  I dug out some long lost expansions from my pile of shame and the long term storage shelf and got them painted.  Derelict Ship, Sand Kraken, and Nun with a Gun are done while the Doomsday Device is nearly complete and the Depth Tracker is in primer.  We even started a new 2p campaign, based on a story arc that I sketched out.  

2. Gaining Momentum:

• Fall Chores - The weather held nicely, and before my sinus infection settled in, I dropped 4 dead trees and carved a small path through the back part of our woods.  I've got a few more to go, and a lot of trail to cut, but it's been a good Fall so far.  Now if I can just get through the Holidaze and see if early December will cooperate.
• PAX Unplugged - PAX-U is at the end of the month.  There's a little bit of hype building about the event, although I don't know what events/classes we'll even attempt to get into.  But, we're looking forward to returning to Philly, being in a better hotel position (we're in the Marriott this time; the Hampton Inn was fine but was on the wrong side of the hall), and eating some of their outstanding downtown food.
• Dropfleet Commander - The UCM fleet is still (still!) on my table but hasn't been touched while I process all the Brimstone stuff.  Honestly, I got tired of painting that color gray and the tedium of fixing panel lines.  But, I think I'm in a place where I can bang out the rest of the cruisers and maybe finish the New York class battleship and take a small squadron to PAX-U for display/contest.

3. Losing Traction:

• KDM Wave 2 - I'll leave this here (again); no shipping updates yet on Wave 3 and I've yet to have need for any of the expansions.  

4. Going, going, gone.

• N/A 

Blast from the Past

Camp Taurajo.  Hello old friend.

So, this weekend was Blizzcon weekend.  Oddly, it's a sort of holiday for us.  Oh, our hobby interests have waxed and waned, but through thick and thin we somehow always pay attention to Blizzcon weekend.  Over the years it's been a weekend where we pause and veg out and watch the streams (or DirecTV PPV back in the day) and otherwise just nerd out.  It never mattered much if we were playing Blizzard games or not; we stop, reminisce, and enjoy.

Blizzcon has a special place in our hearts.  We first attended in person on a complete whim in 2007 - the second Blizzcon ever.  I happened to load a Blizzard page linking to the ticket sales and a road trip to Anaheim sounded like fun.

Now, for context:  in 2007, WoW was in the mid/late TBC era.  I was a Vanilla WoW player, but had struggled to catch a groove in TBC.  We kind of laughed about the fact that we were attending a convention for a game that we weren't actually playing.  (That statement alone is indicative of how focused Blizzard was on WoW at the time - WC3 and SC1 were of course around but showing their age, and Diablo 3 was years away.  WoW was the runaway juggernaut that had yet to actually peak).

The 2007 Blizzcon was the announcement for Wrath of the Lich King and Death Knights, and watching the trailer while in line for Blizzcon merchandise, I was totally and completely hooked.  Over a decade later, I think that one trip to California changed how I viewed games, gaming, and became a Blizzard fan.

We returned to Blizzcon in 2008 and again in 2015.  Some day we may return again.

A lot has changed with WoW since 2007.  Wrath, Cata, MoP, WoD, Legion, and now BfA have all deployed.  The bones of the game that I enjoyed in Vanilla through Wrath are still there, but the game is so very different today.  The type of play that I enjoy is still there, sort of, but it's obscured, twisted, and different.  Less pure.  If nothing else, the map changes that the Cata expansion brought keep me from visiting places that I used to know.

This Blizzcon brought the WoW Classic demo.  I'm currently logged in as I type, with an Orc Warrior named Zoxe standing in Camp T.  This is an area of the game that we haven't seen since Cata launched and Deathwing wrecked the old world in 2010.

It was a little thing, but I'll admit that my eyes got a little watery running down from Crossroads to visit Camp T just after logging in yesterday.

The demo only includes the Barrens and Westfall, so I'm limited in places I can enjoy, but it just feels like home.

Project: Shadows of Brimstone Storage Upgrade

Tower of Doom

This is Part II of a series.  See Part I here for card storage.

Shadows of Brimstone is a frikkin' sprawling game.  Oh, it's fully playable with just one core box, but what fun is that?  The whole point of the game is to dive a dungeon, then jump through unstable rift gates into all kinds of trouble.  The more options you have, the more fun it is.

At the time I'm writing this, there are two gigantic core boxes, 4 Otherworld expansions, 5 Mission Packs, several "Deluxe Expansions", and a ton of other addons, monsters, terrain, and heroes.  And I'm not including the Forbidden Fortress (Kickstarter 2) content, which is starting to become available.

As I mentioned in Part I, I finally admitted that the way that I had things stashed all over the house was a crime, and I set out to consolidate and organize all the content before KS2 content arrives.

Here were my goals as I started to assemble a strategy:

1. Reluctantly, the factory boxes need to go.  This makes me sad (they're pretty cool looking).  But they're mostly air, which means they take up a lot of shelf space AND they're clunky to use at the gaming table.
2. I need quick access to random content.  In a lot of sessions, we jump into the Mines, then if a gate is drawn, we pick an Otherworld card at random and then see where we're going.  That means I won't know what content I need when we set up.
3. I need a reasonable clean up scheme.  If I'm tempted to mix up the content, I'll never keep it straight.
4. Low risk of damage/warpage.
5. Scalability/expandability as more content is added.

SoB has basically five types of components:

• Cards - Covered in Part I
• Minis - Covered by the Ikea Hellquest
• Tokens and small bits
• Printed reference cards for Monsters, Heroes, and town shops
• Map tiles and large bits

Although I've got a good start, I've got a few things to address.

Tokens first. 
SoB has a gob of different tokens, but honestly this was the easiest and best investment I made - small Plano tackle boxes.  The difference in price between my two boxes was significant, BUT the more expensive #3700 Hydro Flow included dividers for every possible space where the cheaper #23730-05 did not.

The strategy with the tokens was to organize them so that I could leave only ONE box open during play with the remainder safely latched and stowed except during setup and teardown.  

Common use tokens required throughout a session are nicely in one box.  This is the 3700-series box.  Using the poker chips for XP really speeds things up vs. pen and paper.

Less frequently used tokens go in a pair of Plano #23730-05. Shown here is the carton I generally use at startup. I have a second 23730 for monster or hero specific tokens that see less use.

Reference Cards next. 
I bought a few Large and Small 3-ring binders and sheet protectors to collect all the cards and addon rule pages that have accumulated.  The Large binder is a Samsill Large Vintage Hardback Style binder, and the smaller one is the 5x8 version.  (The description on the small one says it doesn't work with sheet protectors... but it does!)

No, the small page protectors fit with a little bit of slop, but I love them anyway.  I paid a few bucks extra and got the thematically faux leather, but any cheap binder would work.  

Large and small faux leather binders for Reference Cards.

The large binder holds the town reference cards, addon hero, and XXL monster cards.  No, the sheet protectors don't fit "perfectly" but the ability to flip through the binder really speeds up our town phase.

The small binder holds smaller monster and hero cards.  They're generally sorted by theme/otherworld so I can flip quickly.  At the start of a fight, I pop open the binder, grab the sheets we need, and toss them on the table.

My level 1 Nun (Preacher) in action.

Map tiles last. 
I found these molded boxes from Iris at the local mega-mart in the scrapbooking section.  They're about the size of a medium pizza box, and a little thicker.  They're perfect for map tiles and other large cardstock tokens (the Gunslinger's 6-shooter template, or the Depth Track for example).  

I like that they stack well, latch securely, and are translucent.  It's pretty easy for me to locate the right box, flip the lid open and rummage around for the map tile I need (moving unused map tiles in the lid while I sort).

I bought a couple to play with (about $9 each) and then hit Amazon for a bulk pack.

Close up of the Iris label.  I found these in the craft/scrapbook section of our local mega mart, but Amazon also has 6-packs for a little cheaper.

Two core boxes and three Otherworlds, in about the same shelf volume as 2 cores and 1 Otherworld, and a smaller footprint.  The translucent plastic helps me find the right box in a hurry. 

Derelict Ship content.  I still put the gates/endcaps in a sandwich bag for my own sanity.

Wrap Up.
This is still a work in progress but it's starting to settle out.  I still have some monster packs in the closet awaiting assembly, and I haven't really dealt with the Frontier Town content yet. 

But, our initial play sessions with this scheme went a lot smoother.

Hot off the Desk: ORG011 Broken Token Card Organizer

Broken Token ORG011 and Hobby Lobby #125005 Artist's Supply Case.

This will be a two part post about Shadows of Brimstone storage.  Consider this Part I.

Background:  Over the past few weeks, I've been hauling all of my Shadows of Brimstone out of its various hiding places around the house.  I've acquired quite a bit of SoB, and over the years and my storage solution has been one of laziness and desperation:  a few expansions in this closet, a core box in that cabinet, card decks and tokens over here, and painted minis over there.

Enough was enough, it was time to condense, consolidate, inventory, and organize!

I'll tackle other aspects of SoB in Part II, but one of the first steps was to sort through all the expansions and get all of the cards in the same spot.  The result was sobering and very quickly overwhelmed my previous storage solution.  😆

I also decided that I wanted to sleeve the whole mess - which will help me in the long run but the thicker cards will now take up more room.

I also had the scary thought that SOMEDAY I will have my Forbidden Fortress pledge that I'll also need to integrate and store.  All jokes aside about FFG's ability to deliver pledges, it will get here someday, and I could spend a lot of money on storage solutions that don't scale well to additional content.

Alas, what to do?  Broken Token to the rescue!

In their high-volume card organizer section, BT offers a pair of card trays that fit into an "off the shelf" briefcase-sized box available from Hobby Lobby.  They offer the complete box as a turnkey option on their web page, or you can buy just the tray and source the Artist's Supply Case separately.

I chose the second option. Here are the materials I sourced:

• Hobby Lobby #125005 Artist's Supply Case
• Broken Token ORG011 Standard-Sized Card Organizer
• Broken Token DIV027 Extra Dividers (x2)

Close up shot of the ORG011 Pacakging

ORG011 Contents spread out a little.

With the ever-present 40% coupon, the Case cost me about $16 at the local Hobby Lobby, and then I made a separate order to BT for the Organizer and extra card dividers.  The BT order was about $45 shipped, so I'm into this for less than $60.

Assembly Notes:

• Since I sourced my own Case, I needed to remove the bits and guts that come inside.  There's a pretty nice tray that just lifts out, and a medium phillip's screwdriver is needed to remove the swing-tray.
• The BT parts were the typical laser-cut light plywood.  My Organizer was very clean.  Learning from the Gloomhaven org, I scored the connecting points to the "sprue" with an X-acto knife to minimize splintering.
• I didn't have any particular problems with assembling the bits and didn't need any tape, but if this is your first BT kit I recommend you use masking tape to help secure the corners and other interconnects until you get the entire frame together.
• The tray slides into the case pretty easily, but it's a snug fit.  If you use tape, tape on the INSIDE corners or you may have clearance isues.
• The Card Dividers that came with my Organizer slide in and out easily, but my spares are a little thicker and are a tight fit.  They work, but only barely.
• From start to finish, I had maybe 30 minutes in assembly time.

Bare tray slid into the case.  It's a snug fit, but mine went together great.

Here are the Card Dividers that come with the kit.  I bought extras to give me some better sorting options.

I'm really happy with the results.  With the extra dividers, I can separate each expansion's content into its own cubbyhole.  Also, each "column" of the case serves as a different card type.  From L-R: Threat cards, Artifacts, Encounters, Map decks, and on the far right are the 'common' cards (Scavenge, Darkness, Growing Dread, Gear, Starting Gear).

I think I'll be able to leave most of the cards in the case and just pull what I need on the fly during gaming sessions.  This should keep the tabletop clutter down just a bit, and expedite cleanup.

Honestly, I was a little surprised that I filled as much of the case as I did straight out of the gate, but it looks worse than it is.  There's still a lot of room in there.

My SoB cards initially populated.  At this point I've sleeved about half of the game and I'll continue to optimize.

A lower angle shot of the cards.  The sleeved cards look tightly packed but they're not.  Sleeves naturally "poof" into the space they're allowed.

Hot off the Desk: Shadows of Brimstone BEACON Drone (Derelict Ship)

Larry, Moe, and Curly - ready for the table.

Maybe 14 or 18 months ago, I started working on the Shadows of Brimstone Derelict Ship expansion.  There are 3 different monsters included (Autocannons, Necro-Nauts, and the subject of this post - BEACON drones aka "Probe Droids"). 

The Derelict Ship has some super-cool models, but I remember being really unhappy with the molding quality (gaps, in particular), and my enthusiasm for the project waned quickly. 

Then Kingdom Death arrived, and all other projects were shoved aside. 

But, coming out of Reapercon a few weeks ago, one of the things I realized was that I really need to get my painting volume up.  Not meaning that I should spend more hours per week painting (if only, hah), but that I need to find ways to become more efficient in the limited time I have and turn out more finished minis. 

Next to my table is a very sad little box of half-painted minis.  Over the past 18 months, my painting methods have changed dramatically, and as I moved from project to project there were a few things that got abandoned-in-place due to the level of quality and the amount of rework involved to bring them up to my "new standard." 

But, the models aren't doing anyone any good in that box ... so, this project was intended to try some really time-efficient methods (i.e. airbrushing) and attempt to salvage a horrible start. 

BEFORE:  This was my starting point:  I'd previously done an airbrush primer and then quickly applied an uneven basecoat of AP Gun Metal.  If I'd continued, probably would have dry brushed the hoses, applied a liberal wash to the globe, and then fussed a lot with the lenses, and been unhappy with the overall result.

First Step - Mixing some blue paint into some AP Blue Ink, I made the silver a lot less "disco-ball" and then used Liquitex Carbon Black to shade the underside of the globe.  This took me maybe 15 minutes and was really fun.

I hadn't given up on the silver, and re-airbrushed 2 shades of silver on the top to try to give a highlight.  But the result was still too damn silver and I recoated it in more blue ink/paint mix.

Finished product. I decided not to take the time to "gem" out all the lenses and simply painted them silver and then shaded the undersides with Liquitex Burnt Umber.  There are 18 lenses and 9 hex eyes, and I did all of them in about an hour.

I turned this project into an exercise shading and grime.  I hand-shaded all the arm joints (Reaper Black Wash with a little Adamantium Black for sparkle) and then touched them up with the airbrush (Liquitex Burnt Umber).  The hydraulic hoses were painted in Reaper Rusty Red and then given an AP Soft Tone ink to make them look rubbery.

I kept the hose 'legs' simple - gray shading with the airbrush and then a wash (Reaper Black Wash), followed by Liquitex Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna for some dirt.

Sure, I could have done more with the central globe - vent details, more battle damage, "gem" style lenses, and other general cleanup.  But I put the brushes down and moved on to the next!

Hot off the Desk: Shadows of Brimstone Sand Kraken

SoB Sand Kraken - attacking my patio table on a gray October morning.

One thing that was abundantly clear coming out of ReaperCon was that I need to get my painting volume up.  My pile of shame has grown to epic proportions, and some of the models I have are now getting pretty old.  So, instead of getting bogged down in the Dropfleet panel lines and detailing, I rummaged around in the closet and found a few older models that I could kick out quickly.

First up, is the Shadows of Brimstone Sand Kraken.  He's an XXL monster (meaning a "big big bad" that will show up to thwart a higher level party).  I didn't want to take the time and energy to work him up as a display model (and to be honest, his sculpt has never been my favorite).

But, there's some fun parts of him.  Assembly was super simple.  The mold lines were clean and I only did minimal filling.

I also had an opportunity to experiment:

• Oh, those big eyes, who doesn't need practice on eyes?
• Airbrush color shading
• Hand highlighting
• First use of Stynlrez colored primer

The super vibrant colors were a really nice change after months of painting gray ships and dark KDM models.

Perfect model? Oh heck no.  I could have done a lot more fussing with the rocks, my highlighting is very off in a few places, the tentacles deserved more detail, and the dark recesses of the skin lost some definition along the way. 

But he's done.  And on to the next.

Sand Kraken with Dorothy for scale.  He was procured a few Gencons ago and promptly stuffed in the closet.

First use of Stynlrez primer.  It shoots super smooth, without any prep or thinning.  However, for this model I realized later that I'd rather have worked with a black primer.

I darkened the primer layer with a stone brown color, then began applying greens with the airbrush very directionally to get the shadows.  I didn't want to use inks/washes to define the skin, and mostly succeeded.

Mostly complete model; here I'm building the whites of the eyes up. The orange mane was masked and airbrushed in a build up of 3 colors.  The brighter colors in this stack were used to accent the tentacles.

Finished model, side view. 

Finished model, back.

Finished model, reverse view.

Zoxe Project Status - September 2018

Welcome to another ZPS!  This intro part is where I normally type about how quickly the month went.  But I'll surprise you by saying that September was a good month.  The temperatures finally broke, we had a good mix of wet weather and dry, and I felt like I was gaining ground on many facets of work/life despite being on the road 3 of the 4 weekends.

I should also note that this marks 1 year of doing Zoxe Project Statuses. 

1. On the Table:

• Dropfleet Commander - I'm still working on the UCM Cruisers.  I'm having a huge case of the "meh's" when it comes to the panel lines, but overall I'm really happy with how they're looking.  But I've admittedly set them aside over the past week just to paint something other than gray.  I really want to get this project done, so I'm going to devote some time week after next and hopefully crank them the rest of the way through.
• Shadows of Brimstone Sand Kraken - In the next day or two, I'll post a Hot off the Desk for the Sand Kraken.  Not my favorite sculpt, but really fun to paint and a great excuse to try some new and different colors (including some neon green and orange hues).
• Shadows of Brimstone Nun with a Gun - I've had a lot of SoB waiting in my pile of shame for quite awhile ... but I currently have the Nun (alternate Priest) on the table.  There's a story behind this model; it's kind of a pivotal moment and could mark a shift in what I work on the rest of the calendar year.
  
  /storymode:  In the last gasps of 2016, I batch primed (rattle can) quite a few SoB minis to get me through the winter (since we couldn't rattle-can inside very well during cold weather).  Everything went well, until I grabbed the can of White.  That particular can of white shot like Christmas tree flock combined with silly string.  Super thick, super puffy, and really disheartening considering the target was a batch of (expensive and rare) SoB resin figures, including the Nun.  I cleaned them off the best I could, but they were a mess, and didn't paint anything for about 6 months. 
  
  Fast forward: I now use an airbrush and have upped my game all around, BUT those figures are still in the pile awaiting their turn.  I have an SoB campaign that I want to run - using the Priest/Nun - and groaned when I realized that the Nun was in the pile of rattle can misery.  BUT, I was able to clean her off with just a little isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush.  I've currently got her reprimed and basecoated, and the sassy ol' Nun with a Gun will be posted here in the next week or two.

2. Gaining Momentum:

• Fall Chores - It maybe sounds weird, but I look forward to working outdoors in the late fall and early winter.  Cold weather has always been my friend.  I've got several things around our 10 acres that are queued up and ready to go once the leaves are starting to fall.
• Warmahordes - I bought a pair of the warehouse clearance that some of you may have been aware of.  For $59, you got $240ish (MSRP) worth of models as a blind grab bag.  I still don't intend to play, but I really love their sculpts.  I got Cryx and Cygnar and then quickly traded my Cygnar for Ret with a coworker.

3. Losing Traction:

• KDM Wave 2 - I'll leave this here (again); no shipping updates yet on Wave 3 and I've yet to have need for any of the expansions.  I love the KD universe, but kind of have the idea of clearing away the SoB backlog before I uncrack the classic KDM expansions.

4. Going, going, gone.

• N/A 

Reapercon 2018 - Part II

Part II.  Here's the mini-review / how to.

Home sweet home. The Embassy Suites in Denton Texas was so new it smelled new.

View from our room on the 11th floor. I suspect this will be filled in with commercial offerings galore next year.

The Good:

• The Classes.  The classes we took were excellent.  They are only an hour and 45 minutes in length, so it's fast paced and in some cases just a little too short.  We didn't take as many classes as we could because we were worried about fatigue, but we left each session excited and wanting more.
• The People.  As I mentioned in Part I, this is a tight knit, but welcoming crew.  Reaper Staff were great, and we met so many accepting people.
• The Venue. The new Embassy Suites was fantastic.  The staff (for the most part) were outstanding and got on board with our nerdly ways - for example, I saw employees wearing convention badge ribbons under their Embassy Suites badges.

The Bad:

• The GrowTix registration site is ... well, I started to type "not adequate" to be polite, but ... it's trash.  Sorry.  All of our tickets came out in the end, so no harm to us, but I was meticulous in figuring out their systems and double checking everything because the interface is so horrendously bad.
• The Auction.  Throughout the event, you can earn "Reaper Bucks" (play money) to use at the closing ceremony auction.  All in all we had fun, and even won a Badger Krome airbrush, but as tables started pooling their funds, it left out a lot of people who wanted to bid on items.  We were at a good table - thanks to getting adopted - but it was apparent that some people were frustrated.

Things to Do Differently Next Time:

• Pack a lunch.  We ate restaurant food and junky snacks from the time that we left on Tuesday until we got home late Monday.  It's hard to leave the venue, get food, and get back in a reasonable amount of time, despite a lot of nearby options.  Each room had a kitchenette that we could have made use of - even if it was PBJ or deli meat sandwiches.  And we spent a lot of money on food.
• Take more classes.  I don't want to spend every waking moment in class, but we could have handled more classroom time.
• Volunteer to run a game.  There wasn't a lot of board game / tabletop wargame options.  Reaper obviously only offers what people are willing to run.  Maybe I should step up - I'm thinking Shadows of Brimstone would be a fun thing to run.
• Enter the painting contest.  We pushed ourselves to get entries into GenCon and then the Miniature Monthly Masters.  I had things that I'd painted earlier this year, but didn't feel that they showed my current capability and left them at home.  I should have done SOMETHING though.
• Bring stuff to paint.  Although we painted in classes and did the painting events ("Sophie Says") I could have brought a few models to play with at Fort Wappel.

Reapercon 2018 - Part I

Miniatures. Gaming. Fun.  That about sums it up.

I've started typing this post a few times to consolidate some of my Reapercon thoughts.  Nothing I've written yet really conveys exactly what happened to us.  "We had a great/wonderful/excellent/terrific time" is kind of cliche.

So, I'll start with a post I wrote for another forum and then modify/merge and turn this into sort of a mini-review / how-to at the end.

We signed up not really knowing what to expect.  What we found is that Reapercon is first and foremost about the painting aspect of the hobby.  Secondarily, it's about D&D and a smattering of other tabletop systems.  I saw just a handful of board games in play, but there were tons of tabletop RPGs.

But painting, lots of painting.

The Trip:

Anyway, we opted to drive. People called us crazy, but I really wanted the "road trip" feel to our experience.  And I really detest airports.  Between our home and the Texas destination there were a couple of states that I've never physically been to, except perhaps during a layover for a flight.  And I really detest airports.  Did I mention I don't like airports?

We set out after work on Tuesday evening and set our destination for St. Louis and the physical store for Miniature Market.  I've used MM over the past several years as a source for all kinds of things, and it was super fun (and a little surreal) to park our car in the front row beneath the MM sign.

The store was really cool, and I would recommend stopping by if you are in the area, but wasn't a mega-mart by any stretch.  Huge for a gaming store, and well stocked, but much of the obscure stuff that I know they have is managed out of the warehouse - which is a separate address.  We bought a few things and chatted up the store staff - they seemed impressed and honored that we made them part of our road trip.

Initial Destination:  Miniature Market physical store in St. Louis.

We arrived in time for the Wednesday night pizza party to kick off the event.  We randomly sat next to other people from the Reaper forums, and that served as a gateway to meeting many (many) more people throughout the weekend.

We signed up for 3 classes spread throughout the weekend (more on this later), registered for a run-thru of the Pathfinder 2E scenario, and we did the Reaper factory tour.  All of this was good fun and quite worthwhile.

Aaron Lovejoy giving a class on NMM.

My rough NMM attempt in the limited time we had; focusing on lighting and colors.

Setting up for the "Everything Chibi" course.  Here I've basecoated the Reaper figure.

The factory tour, in particular, was fantastic.  Reaper is a small shop in the grand scheme, and it's apparent that they've grown very organically over the years and figured out what works best for them.  I've been in/around large and small manufacturing since my first job in my teens and the sad/sterile/lifeless corporate factory is far too common.  Their entire factory just oozes with personalized touches and customized processes.  It made me want to work there.

Shifting topics:  the people that attend Reapercon are a tight knit crew and quite fantastic.  It's not a "small" con, but it's far smaller than PAX-U, and it goes on for 4+ full days (with most people arriving Wednesday evening for the pre-party and some staying through to Monday morning before setting off for home, so it's almost 6 days for many).

Convention Layout. We had most of the convention space but there is room to grow.

Registration desk.

Vendor area. Two short rows of booths (this is not Gencon) but there was good variety and things worth looking at.

General 'free area' for painting, gaming, or sitting down to chat or have a bite.  I'm showing maybe 1/3 of the available space.

Here's the part that I have trouble describing:  we got adopted by two groups and then met friends-of-friends and friends-of-friends-of-friends.  After 5 Gencons, 3 Blizzcons, a PAX-U, and random visits to the game stores near us, I feel like I can find common ground and have a pleasant conversation with most nerds.  But in the small confines of a mult-day event, those incidental encounters were compounded with repeat conversations.

Fort Wappel is a gathering point for many painters and social hijinks. We spent a lot of time here.

I grabbed reference photos of this dragon for my KDM Dragon King. 

Face detail on the dragon. Those eyes!

We started Wednesday night awkward and anonymous, but went up to our room on Sunday with handshakes and hugs.  It all happened in a blur, but looking back at how the weekend evolved, it couldn't have happened any other way - and could have never been planned or premeditated.

So, we had a great time; already talking about next year.