On My Painting Table - Dwarf Gyrocopter - Intital Assembly

Looking through my Lead Pile, I have finally decided to tackle the neglected Dwarf Gyrocopter. This is the metal model, but not the original design.

 

 

I had purchased this model a few years ago, and it had been roughly stripped of its bad paintjob. It has since sat my lead pile unloved until now. I did manage to find all the pieces, except for the pilot, and started piecing this model together. I tested all the joins, and quickly realised that this model has got some serious problems. There are pieces that need to joined, that simply will not “glue” together, as there is not enough surface area. This was mainly the rotor blades, but also the landing skids and the vertical stabilizer (the thing at the back which swings from left-to-right).

 

After staring at the rotor blades for a while, and trying to figure out, how I was going to attach them to each other. I found myself with no real answers. They were too thin to pin, there wasn’t enough surface area to just glue them. I did consider creating some sort of custom support structure that sits under each blade and attaches to the rotor shaft, but that seemed way too difficult and time consuming. So I did what I always do, when I need some helpful tips. I turned to the internet, and did a Google search on “Dwarf Gyrocopter Rotor Blades”. I wanted to see how other people tackled the problem of attaching the Gyrocopter rotor blades. This is a summary of what I found:

 

• Method 1. Use a small 8mm washer, under the rotor blades. Glue the rotor blades to the washer. The washer is naturally visible, but when painted it looks acceptable.
   
• Method 2. It is possible to pin the rotor blades together but, you need to be very careful. Using superglue and green-stuff really helps to keep it all together.
   
• Method 3. Soldering the rotor blades together is do-able, but you really have to be careful, because the heat can really damage/destroy the actual blades.
   
• Method 4. Use a product called JB Weld. It can be purchased from any auto supply store. It is used for small body repairs. The problem is that it takes a while to fully dry. You need to let it set for a couple of days before it is fully dry.
   
• Method 5. Don’t use the rotor blades on your Gyrocopter. Instead, get some clear plastic like the stuff used on food packaging and cut out a circular disc, the same diameter as the completed rotor assembly. Use a black marker to draw 3 fuzzy lines on the circular disc. Attach this to the Gyro, and now it looks like the rotor blades are spinning, and truly flying.
   
• Method 6. Don’t use the Gyrocopter model at all. Simply make your own proxy model, with something else.

It was really interesting to see how different people tackled this problem. I was initially interested in soldering my rotor blades together, but I wasn’t really concerned, that if it went wrong, it would be disastrous, and I would have some real damage on my hands. So finally I decided to try and use the pinning method. I did have some reservations, regarding drilling into such thin parts, but carefully and slowly I did manage to pin my model together. Once I did the rotor blades, I then proceeded to use the pinning technique on ALL the parts which needed to be joined. I have taken photos of the process.

I used the standard Citadel pin vice, and ordinary paper clips. One paper clip provided all the pinning power I needed.

 

Here are the photos.

 

Here is proof that it is possible to drill a hole and glue a paper clip pin, into the thin rotor blades of this model. You can also see the pins used in the other parts of the model.

 

 

The pins have been passed all the way through the metal. I did this for extra stability. Once everything was dry, the pins were clipped very close to the model, and they are no longer visible.

 

Here is another view of the pins passing through the horizontal stabilizer.

 

The three rotor blades have been 'dry' fitted, but they have not been glued yet. I will probably use some green stuff as part of this process to make sure it really secure.

 

This is the model so far. I still need to attach the rotor assembly to the rotor shaft. I am thinking of using magnets for this joint. This may help when the model is transported or accidentally dropped. 

 

On My Painting Table - Wizard Repaint (update)

I have been working on this wizard some more, and I am happy with the progress. I have removed some (not all) of the shine from his robes. I created a new paint additive, using a mix of matt medium and flow improver, and used this to make a dark purple wash, which I applied to the robes. I also used this new creation and made a black wash, which seems to perform a lot like GW's Badab Black, but I need to test it some more, before I can say, it is the same sort of thing. You can see this black wash on the wizard's hand, the one which is hold the staff. It looks like the old fashioned "Black lining", that used to be painted on minis, back in the 90s. I also created a new flesh tone, quite by accident, but I think I like it more than the "official" flesh colours produced by GW. Again, I will need to experiment some more, and see if I like it.

The next step is to clean up the base, as well as apply some actual basing material to it.

Here are the photos.

On My Painting Table - Wizard Repaint

After moving my painting table to my room, it has been a LOT easier to just pickup some painting time, between being a father to my children (and being a grown-up in general). I find that I paint something, then leave it, and go and do grown-up stuff, like cook, clean, wash, mentor, tidy, organise, fix, etc..and then give myself a 15 minute break to go back and paint some more. I find that this works really well, except the fact that my 15 minutes usually turns out to be about 30 minutes.

Here is a photo of what I have been painting.

This is a wizard that was in my lead pile. It has been a LONG time, since I painted a wizard, so I simply started painting over him. I didn't bother stripping him back to bare metal. I was just keen to start painting. I used purple ink (amongst other paints), and it has left a shiny area in some of the recesses. I will need to go back to fix this up. Just in case you were wondering he is not finished yet.

On my Painting Table - Hobgoblins

I have returned to painting these hobgoblins, and I am making progress on their skin, and the highlights of their robes. I am happy with most of the progress, but I did do some silly things, which I am not happy about. I drybrushed over some of my highlights, which was really sloppy and crude, which I now need to fix.

The weapons are not finished (or not even started), and I need to base them.

My Original Minis - Part 2

Here are some orcs I painted in the 80s. If I recall correctly these were some of the earliest slotta minis I purchased. I didn't have any other orcs, so these guys were never part of any army. I dry brushed these with too much white. At least they are matt. I'm fairly sure these were painted with Tamiya paints.

My Original Minis - Part 1

I still own most of my minis from the 80s. I was definitely not a good painter back (I'm only slightly better now - ha ha ha). So I thought it would be a good idea to share these early minis from my collection. Most of them still have their original paint job. Here is the first photo.

The mini was painted using enamels, which I purchased these from a local hobby store. The paints were intended for plastic model kits, and not minis. I had to use my father's turpentine to clean my brushes. Oh what a mess.

 You can see an early attempt at black-lining between the feet and the pantaloons. I don't think I black-lined anything ever again.

 I would love to re-paint these minis, especially the one on the left.

Bugman's Dwarf Rangers

My first minis I ever painted were the Citadel Dwarfs from the mid to late 80s, and even though I collected a few blisters of Imperial Dwarfs (I'll post photos of my early work, sometime soon), I never had enough funds to aquire a whole army. One of my desires was to own Bugman's Dwarf Rangers. In my mind it was a "must have" unit for my Dwarf army. Now, it is some 25 years later and I have just received the last few minis to make up my own Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.

These have taken about 2-3 years to collect. They have come from various sources. I am now ready to get them preped for painting. Some paint stripping, some undercoating and I am ready to paint my childhood (teenagehood) dream of a unit of Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.

I know, I am missing the musician, and I have find shields for them, but I am farily happy with my little unit. Here they are in their current state. I plan on posting more photos of these guys as I start painting them.

Creating my first Paper Building for wargaming

Hello everyone. I have always wanted to make my own paper buildings for wargaming, and for many reasons, I have was unable to do so - Until Now. Here is my first attempt a creating a paper based model/terrain piece for a wargaming table.

It is a small brick and plaster house, with a slate roof. It has no windows (at the moment), and was created using Photoshop and Illustrator. It is about 28mm in scale. I have photographed it, with a Flintloque mini for scale comparison.

I can already see some changes I want to make to this model, as well as a plethora of future models, but I think it is "not too shabby" for a first attempt. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

I am influenced by the Dave Graffams Models (www.davesgames.net). The quality of his paper models are top notch.

Enjoy the pictures:

Bull Centaur - Flesh Coloured

I know that the traditional colour scheme for a Bull Centaur is red, but I personally don't like red skin, unless it is on a demon. Here is my version of a Bull Centaur.

Oriental Ogre

You know how there are some minis, that when you see them for the first time, you know that you must have them for your collection. Well this lovely mini was one of those minis for me.

I first saw a picture of him in White Dwarf, back in the 80s. And I really want him. Well the truth of matter is, I never received the oportunity to purchase him, as Citadel miniatures were not all available (not easily anyway) in Melbourne Australia, back in the 80s. So he never was mine, until about 3 months ago, when I bought him from someone in the UK via eBay. He sat unpainted on my shelf, until a few days ago, and even though his base is not finished, I wanted to show you some photos.

Stripes on my pants

I remember back in the 80s, there was a trend to paint stripes on minis which appeared to be wearing tight fitting pants (I dare not call them leggings). And even though this method gave a visually interesting effect to a plain and boring surface, I personally did not dare to attempt at painting such straight lines at evenly spaced increments. I held this fear until a few months ago, when I finally attempted my first stripes. I knew how to do it technically, but had zero experience at it. Anyway here is my first attempt at stripes on leggings.

Note: In case anyone is wondering the pig is from 'Fantasy Warlord miniatures' made by Alternative Armies, back in the early 90s.

Empire Citizen

This is my "Empire Citizen". He is a foundary miniature I believe. He was purchased on an impulse buy on eBay, as he was cheap, and I was already buying several other minis from the same seller, so I thought that one more mini wouldn't hurt. So when he arrived, I was quite impressed with him. He fit perfectly with the painting competition over at the ' Warhammer Empire ' website, which was to paint an empire figure, which was also a citizen. Basically it was open to any empire figure, as basically every soldier or wizard is also a citizen.

He entered the competition on July 17, 2011, and on August 10, 2011 he won first place out of a field of 16 other painted citizens.

Here is thread over at Warhammer-Empire, so you can see all details.
http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=37399.75

The Plastic Chaos Dwarfs

Over the years I have managed to acquire a total of 150 Plastic Chaos Dwarfs. Some were painted, some were undercoated and others have never been touched by paint. I usually acquired these because they were cheap. A good way to bulk out my Chaos Dwarf army of "Big Hats". The truth of the matter is I never really loved these minis, as they were so bulky compared to their metal counterparts. So I am in the process of selling off my plastics and trying to acquire some metal warriors. Here are some photos of the first two batches I am selling have sold.

This is the first batch of 10

This is the second batch of 10

Bull Taurus Re-paint

Here is a picture of my Bull Taurus, which I painted for the October Painting Challange over at 'Chaos Dwarfs Online'. The theme was "Beast", so here is my Beast.

This is what the Bull Taurus looked like before the re-paint. I was trying to achieve a more "human" skin-tone, but it just looked washed out to me, and so I was happy to repaint it.

Inspiration - New & Old - 2

Here is another illustration from the 80s which was very inspirational to me and my hobby. It is a great piece of artwork by the great John Blanche. The more I look at this piece of artwork the more I like it.

Empire Ogre - Pirate - Finished

Here is my Empire Ogre. I painted him for the September Painting Challenge over at 'Chaos Dwarfs Online'. The theme was "A face only a mother could love".

Challenge:
Find the ugliest model you have, whether it is actually an unly beast/creature, or whether it simply badly sculpt, cast, broken, or simply just unloved. Paint it up and make it "feel loved" again.

Here is my ugly face. Don't be fooled by his outfit, he truely is ugly - honest.

Empire Ogre - Pirate - Nearly Finished

Here is the latest from my painting table. Actually it is still sitting on my painting table, ready to be based. For a long time, I wanted to paint something pink. Something that shouldn't be pink, anc I considered doing a pink Space Marine or an Ork wearing pink, but I finally decided on this mini. I am not sure if this says something about me, or not, but I like him.

Black Orcs

Here are my first batch of Black Orcs. I used a strange painting technique on their armour, which basically used a combination of purple and orange inks, over a dark metallic grey. It makes their armour look colourful but in a dull sort of way. It certainly is not the bright red armour that used to be popular in the 80s.

Hobgoblin Wolf Riders

Here is my first batch of Goblin wolf riders. I really want to add more wolf riders to my Chaos Dwarf army. Hopfully I can get some painted up real soon.

Black Orc - Standard Bearer

Here is the latest painted mini. He has 5 other friends, but they have not been based yet.

This guy was painted over a black primer. Also I am not really happy with the "battle damage" on his armour. The next black orc, will have a different technique applied, to create the battle damage.