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.

Hot off the Desk: Kingdom Death White Knight

Kingdom Death White Knight on a Scibor base.

Now that the Miniature Monthly Masters entry window has closed, I'll post pictures of my entry!

*fanfare noises*  Kingdom Death White Knight!

A few random notes:

• He was truthfully one of the best models to assemble.  The resin was super clean and easy to work with.  
• What you're seeing is a mix of hand-brushing and airbrush work.  I alternated both methods throughout - basecoating as well as shading.
• I started with my usual airbrush-applied primer (Vallejo Surface Primer, Black) and then worked up through several shades of gray to pure white before basecoating the other colors.
• The marble floor result was almost totally an accident.  I bought the paint (Reaper Pearl White) to put me over the top to get free shipping when I ordered the Teal.  I started using the Pearl only because it was "new" and then realized that it's actually a "metallic" and somewhat translucent. Initially I was unhappy with it because it was thin - took several coats to cover and hard to control ... I was worried about filling in the floor texture detail.  Then the blue ink over the top really surprised me; I almost did something else entirely.
• The stripe on the shield was masked and airbrushed, then I accented the highlights on the teal.
• I was originally going to airbrush a bright gold ink on the shield instead of the stripe.  It would have made the shield a white with translucent gold with dark gold in the recesses.  I'm happy with the stripe but might save that idea for another figure.
• As I was painting the two figures on the wooden cross, I was highlighting their rag coverings and discovered that there aren't 2 figures, but actually 4.  If you look closely, there's a 2nd figure on each side grasping at the other figure's waist.  They're tiny!  There isn't much lore on this figure, but I took that represent the Strong protecting the Weak and made me like him even more.

Some Work in Progress photos:

Mockup after assembly to check compatibility with the base.

First attempt at the tunic shading and gold basecoating done. Starting to highlight gold.

At this point I've mocked up the fur, but ultimately wanted it less brown to stand out from the gold more.

Raw airbrushed shield; masking and teal stripe will be applied later.

And the final submission photos:

Sword arm view.  All of the gold was basecoated and highlighted by hand (Reaper products).  The plant and some of the gems/detail and sword grip are Reaper Rusty Red - one of my new favorite colors that was recently discontinued (!!)

Rear view. The cloak was airbrushed and then highlighted by hand. I tried to accent the base with two colors of brown to make it look like silted sediment.

The base 'face' was basecoated by hand and then shaded with inks and highlighted with Reaper Pearl White. I used the Sotar 2020 for detail work.

Closer shot of the Shield.  I tried to shade the leg/thigh where maybe the (heavy) shield might rub during a long day of travel.

ZPS - August 2018

UCM Frigates - Done!

August came and went in a flash.  Work had me on the road quite a bit, and I've struggled to keep any sort of momentum at the office.  It seems like GenCon was a long time ago, but it's only been a few weeks.

1. On the Table:
I feel like I've gotten a lot done, but these piddly little entries don't quite do it justice.

• Miniature Monthly Masters Contest Entry - After GenCon, I was planning to get back to Dropfleet Commander (DFC) cruisers and capital ships, but decided to put an entry into this contest.  As a single figure, it is probably a personal best and while I'm hoping to be competitive, I don't expect to place.  I'm super happy with the results, though.  I'll post pictures after the results, but it's been a good chance to use some new colors and try some new things.
• Dropfleet Commander - The frigates are DONE and the cruisers and capital ships are airbrush-basecoated and shaded.  Now that MM-Masters submission in, I've pulled them back to the front of the queue and am starting to pick out details before I mask all the accent stripes. 
• ReaperCon - We're actually at ReaperCon RIGHT NOW!  I set this post to robo-post while we're away.  Looking forward to a few painting classes, and maybe some tabletop RPGs.

2. Gaining Momentum:

• Magic: the Gathering - Bought some cards on a whim after being away for almost 15 years.  I have no intention of playing competitively at the FLGS, but a few pickup games around the house have been fun.  I'd hoped to get some MTG in at GenCon but the stars didn't align (but that's okay).  For where we're at, their preconstructed decks are pretty fun and work okay for a weeknight brawl.

3. Losing Traction:

• Gloomhaven - Wish we had time to continue our campaign.  Weekends lately have been mowing, painting, and recovery.  Weeknights have been no good for long gaming sessions either.
• KDM Wave 2 - Also wish I had more time to dig into these, but reality is reality.  After the DFC ships are done, these are next, but realistically I don't expect to get to them for several weeks.

4. Going, going, gone.

• Summer - Labor Day marks the end of another summer (even though Fall doesn't technically begin for another few weeks).  I'm okay with this.  Summer is my least favorite season - humidity and bugs and mowing the lawn.  There's also this underlying peer pressure (reinforced by the marketing gurus at Lowes, Home Depot, and Bud Light) that Summer is supposed to be "fun" with lots of time outside being social.  Honestly, I'd rather be outside in October and November when the temperatures are nice.  I'm looking forward to splitting wood, running the chainsaw, and some crisp dry mornings.  So screw you, Summer, and get the heck out of here already.

Hot off the Desk: Wizard of Brimstone Gang (GenCon Project)

Welcome to Shadows of Oz, or Wizard of Brimstone. Take your pick.

Well, not exactly 'hot' off the desk, but that's the naming convention.

First and foremost, a special thanks to the Underdog crew and Dog Might Games for support.

At GenCon2018, I was honored to win the "Brimstone Bounty" category at the Flying Frog Games painting competition. (!!!!)

The category is probably intended for a "squad" of bad guys or heroes from one of the expansion packs, but in recent years people have become a little more creative with their composition and theme.  Back in the winter months, Mrs. Zoxe and I were talking about what she'd like to do for her Ninja Division diorama entry.  She said "Wizard of Oz."

The reference photo, sourced from the internets.

I said, "Huh, I could actually pull that off in Brimstone."  So I raided the Flying Frog Games web store for some duplicates of minis I already own.  Here's the rundown:

• Dorothy - Female Rancher, alternate sculpt resin
• Toto  - Ally Dog Set, resin
• Lion - Night Terror*
• Scarecrow - Wandering Samurai resin
• Tin Man - Targa Guardian Expansion
• Wicked Witch - Hellfire Witch, Limited Edition preview resin

*I truly loved using the Night Terror here, as it's so recognizable as a core set mini.  There are duplicate sprues available from the web store, but I giggled that someone would think that I'd sacrificed my core set for this project.

The next problem was bases.  I needed at least 3 different sizes, and I needed an old school cobblestone to pull off the yellow brick road look.  Tabletop Art (Germany) has some glorious bases, but I had just gotten some Scibor bases stuck in customs for months and months and didn't have the time for that nonsense.  Thankfully, I was able to find what I needed in stock at Noble Knight.

Finally, although I wanted a diorama feel, I really wanted to be able to play the minis in our games after I was done.  So I adapted an idea from another project I did awhile back and added them to a nice plank of bolivian rosewood with pockets for each round base.

I'll stop typing here and let the pictures speak for themselves.

An early mock up. Figures held to bases with plasti-tac. I'm starting to fill the Night Terror's horrible gaps.

The SoB resin sculpts are super detailed but I seriously hate their hard and slippery material choice.

The big boys.  The Targa Guardian is my single most favorite SoB mini.

I managed to find some HO-scale tufts in the color I needed to represent the Poppy Fields from the scene in the movie.

A late WIP shot of the Night Terror's (Lion) base.  I'm using Reaper metallics and ArmyPainter green ink for detail. The result was "ok" but I would do this differently if I were to do it again.

Scarecrow almost done and pinning the crow to his shoulder. I used a TINY safety pin as source material.  Oh, and take a deep breath before you take a pin drill to a 95% complete model.

Night Terror got a coat of primer after the Milliput had cured. The neck is a little rough.  I continued to use Vallejo Plastic Putty to fill low spots and create texture around his neck.

A mostly complete shot of the Lion. Here I'm adjusting highlights around his face.

Toto, complete but not based.  The gray shading was airbrushed, and several layers of various browns were used for his muzzle and feet.  Reaper Black Wash (several coats) in the shadows of his legs.  Really simple, but I consistently got positive comments on him.

Finished Gang - Part 1.  The Tin Man was intentionally really simple. I considered doing more weathering and shading but decided to stay true to the reference picture. Judge's feedback that just a little more shading would have been welcome, point taken. 

Finished Gang - Part 2.  I was really happy with the blends on the Witch's body.  I added the broom from a Reaper miniature that I sacrificed for the cause.

I was so happy that Dorothy didn't turn out cross-eyed.  I experimented with some blends on her gun, boots, and belt and was happy with how they came out.  The shading on her jacket and skirt was mostly zenithal highlighting from the airbrush and just a little work with the hand brush.

Scarecrow with his feathered friends.  The ruby color of his face armor is a color tie - all of the figures (except Toto) have the Ruby color from Dorothy's boots somewhere on them.

To counterbore the base, I bought a series of forstner bits.  When the one for the Tin Man came, I was truly impressed. It came in its own "crate."  When I spooled up the drill press, I swear ground shook and the lights dimmed in the garage.  Apologies for the lazy backlit image.

Finished display base.

And in the case at Gencon.