Caleb

Greetings everyone:

I was going to post an article today about the differences between blending and the more common wet blending.  I wanted to talk about this because although wet blending is a very common technique, no one out there (on the forums, etc) seemed to be talking about just basic BLENDING.

To be clear, when I say blending, I mean the gradient disolve between colors used to create a soft transition. Think of a sunset, and the way the light changes from dark red to orange to yellow, then to pink, etc.  That’s blending, I guess on the biggest pallete there is.

Blending is seen as an advanced technique by most painters, since it’s such a time consuming endeavor (and we are NOT a patient world).  I hear people talk about Wet Blending all the time (which is actually less like blending and more like speed layering or muddling colors), I think because it achieves a ‘similar’ effect in much less time.  Which I’m all for, btw!  Anything to save time.

That being said I think it’s important to remember WHAT blending actually is and how it is done, at least for posterity if nothing else.  In effect, feathering and blending get confused all the time.  Feathering is, in essence, thinnly drawing out the edge of a highlight color so that it blends against the underlying surface, in effect creating a thin, transparent surface layer.  So in a way, it’s partially layering, but really, because the color is so thin and the edge is so soft, it actually becomes more of a gradient color transition.

To be clear, Feathering is Blending.  The two terms are virtually identical and can be used interchangeably.  Even though Feathering is how you blend, it’s a little like saying driving is how you drive.   Their two paths to the same destination and riding in the same damn car.  Who cares who’s driving? 

I had to go all the way back to my trust “How to Paint Citadel Miniatures” Guide to find out more about this, (the old version, not the shiny new version with  the spiral bound center).  Page 32, 2nd Paragraph down for those interested.  This is the one written by Rick Priestly. 

On the next page, (page 33, just under the “Metallics” sidebar) Rick makes several notes of interest:

Firstly, he points out that in order to blend effectively you need two brushes:  One to apply paint and one to smooth the paint.  The 2nd brush should always be a little wet (with water).  This is to prevent it from soaking up the paint.  It’s meant to drag the paint around, not soak it up.  Both brushes should be small and well pointed (firm bristles will help to draw out the paint thinly across the surface of the model).  You want to work in small areas at a time, so that the paint doesn’t dry up on you.  Of course on a bigger model, use a bigger brush.  Thinning the paint properly (a feat of it’s own and deserving another article) will help in this regard.  It should be about glaze consistency. 

Secondly, he points out that the more common practices of washing and layering achieve, in effect, the same result in much less time.  Hence why they are favored so much.  So he honors the old technique while recognizing the value of the new.  

He also makes a comment, and I’ll quote here, that “The appearance of an army depends much more on the artist’s sense of style  and colour than upon time consuming technique.  The ability to blend does not in itself make an expert painter!”  Page 33, How to Paint Citadel Minaitures.  (PS, check out Rick’s tip about blending out extreme/line highlights on page 42. 

Rather than post a few pics of me holding a brush over a mini demonstrating the technique, I thought I’d show you a few of my favorite examples of the technique in action from the REAL pros out there.  These are the guys that inspire me. 

Studio McVey should be familiar to most painters.  He was one of the founding painters for Eavy Metal back in the day and hasn’t slacked off since.  He doesn’t have a very active youtube channel BUT he posted what I consider to be the absolute 100% best videos on blending I have every seen.

Here is a link to the first video in the series. 

Another guy whose work I really like is Andrew with Schnauzer Face Minis.  His website is still a WIP, mostly because of his hectic life, but he’s really an inspiration in terms of blending with an airbrush.  The beauty of an airbrush, other than the chrome body (hubba hubba) is that it effectively blends with every blast.  Because the paint is atomized, it is very thin (like paint used to blend).  Additionally, because of the way the paint is dispersed when it comes out of the airbrush, it can’t help but thin out towards the edges of the cone.

This means, among other things, that wherever you spray will have a softer edge than the concentrated center.  This is exactly what you want when you blend, and you get this just by hitting the easy button with an airbrush!

Check out Andrew’s amazing Trollblood Mountain King Tutorial for a great example of this in action.  Andrew makes it look so easy.   Jealous?  Yes, yes, I am. 

 For a good example of Wet Blending in action, check out this tutorial by Lester Burley of Awesome Paint Job.  There area about a million tutorials on how to wet blend out there, but I like how Les goes into great deal of detail about it and you can really see it in up close detail in this video.

Just so we’re on the same page, layering is something ENTIRELY DIFFERENT than blending.  I’ll get more into layering in a future video, but if you want a good example of Layering in action, check out Goatboy’s extensive gallery.    From a distance (like standing up at a gaming table) layering looks just as nice as blended miniatures and its MUCH faster, so it’s no wonder why layering is such a popular technique.

Goatboy’s layering is pretty much an extension of the way he does graphic art.  His colors are very distinct and easy to separate with the naked eye, but from a few feet away, the colors appear to blend perfectly.  That’s what good layering should do.  All the beauty of feathering in half the time. 

Check out the art he did for our podcast, War Council.    If you want to give them a listen you’ll be able to here soon. 

To round things out, I found an amazing forum chat (very brief, thankfully) that I will summarize below, as well as provide a link to.  I have credited the authors beneath each section, at least as much as I could based on their handle. 

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=66579

 FORUM POST BEGINS HERE: 

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Greetings fellow wargamers! 

We all know the value of sand as a basing solution for our miniatures.  Most veteran painters will tell you to glue sand to your base before painting so that you paint the sand too.  A common technique is to glue sand down, glop on some black and spread it around, then drybrush with successive layers of grey or brown to naturally pick up the raised areas. 

I myself use that method often, but I’ve run into a few problems with it over the years.  Firstly, unless you use something really strong (like superglue) then the sand will tend to flake off during painting.  PVA glue and scenic cement aren’t always strong enough to hold the sand in place for the purpose of painting.  That brush is pulling on that sand like a two year old on daddy’s chest hair and some of it is bound to be ripped off.  Ouch. 

Because of this, I started experimenting with staining the sand a few years ago.  I’d use washes or inks, or dirty water even. And on small bases this was alright, but on the larger bases (and terrain) it didn’t quite cut the mustard.  The results were inconsistent and the mix didn’t quite spread around the way I’d like it to.   So I started experimenting with other mediums and discovered what I think might be the best use for Quickshade (dip) never invented.  And that is shading your bases! 

 Here’s what you’ll need for this tutorial:

• An old base
• An old brush, wide, soft bristles
• PVA (white) glue
• Some wood stain (or Quickshade)
• An empty bottle (not required, but recommended)
• Sand
• Flock

 First, apply some glue to the base.  Doesn’t need to be a ton, but don’t be squeamish.  Glue is cheap, and if you use too little and the sand won’t stick. 

 Use that old brush to spread the glue around until it’s consistent from edge to edge. 
(note, if you paint the base brown first, before gluing on the sand, then it will lighten the appearance of the base considerably.  You’ll see this in the final example, below)

 Now either pour the sand on top of the fresh glue or dip the base in the glue.  Don’t rub it in the glue, just let the sand naturally adhere to the surface.  It there is some on the edges, wipe it off with your finger or a tissue. 

For this next step (which is optional) you’ll need a bottle.  I use these bottles.  You can find them at your favorite local craft shop such as Michael’s or even four wall stores like Target and Walmart, etc.  They are CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP, so buy a bunch for making your own custom mixes, inks, washes/glazes, etc. 

 I find the ‘dip’ method to be frustrating and wasteful.  It also goes against a core concept in painting which is color application, not oversaturation.  Dip is, effectively, a high gloss varnish/brown wash.  And while I feel like does have it’s place on my workbench, it is used sparingly.    I also hate the old fashioned metal paint can, which doesn’t nothing to help change the image that Quickshade is effective a stain/varnish mix that you can get at any local DIY store for half the price. 

 So what I do is I put it in a bottle.  The bottle helps with application and it also keeps me from having to bust out the paint key every time I want to use a little bit of quickshade. 

Next, apply some of the shade to the base.  Be generous.  Use that old brush from before to spread it around (Note: if you don’t soak your brush in mineral spirits after this session, your brush is gone for good.  I normally keep a pack of cheap dollar store brushes around for this purpose, and then just check the used brush after this session.  I find no reason to waste time cleaning a .20 cent brush). 

Now just flock as desired, paint the edges of the bases, and presto!  Instant shaded sand! 
What’s even better is that the quickshade acts like superglue and bonds that sand to the base like it were cement!  That sand isn’t going anywhere.  The sand itself will absorb most of the dip and the rest will help to act as a grout between them grains of sand. 

Here you can find an example of a figure we used this method on (it’s base).  As you can see, it creatures a rich, interesting base with next to no effort.  Voila! 

My name is Caleb and I am the owner of White Metal Games, a  miniature painting and assembly service.  Be sure to check us out on facebook too!  And until next time . . .

PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS! 

Greetings from Terra!  I have an extra special treat for your today, fellow wargamers!  By now I’m sure most of you seen the concept art for the Golden Throne from the inside cover of the 5th Ed. 40k rulebook.  If not, then just follow the link! 

 This art was so icon, so inspiring, that I felt moved to create a mini-diorama depicting the scene.  I’ve seen one or two of these floating around the web before, but I’m not sure any have been as truth to the imagery as this one. 

 Now, bear in mind that this isn’t a gaming piece.  Although, i suppose, you could cook up some sort of ‘Assault on the Imperial Palace’ scenario and attempt to play it out.  That’s an apoc game I’d like to see! 

 The figure was constructed from a variety of scenery pieces from the Warhammer 40k Terrain line.  For the Emperor himself, we used a zombie torso and arms, a servo skull for the head (then sculpted a jaw and some lower teeth), and finally we used a spare Valkyrie ejection seet for his lower body.  For his legs, we sculpt the robes and stippled them to appear mottled. 

 for the cables, we made dozens of cables out of grey stuff using a specialty tool we picked up, let them dry, and then fit them into place.  We probably could have made dozens more tubes, but we didn’t want to over due it, even though the concept art in face has what looks like hundreds of tubes!  This is simply an interpretation , after all. 

 Painting wise, we stuck to a limited palette, building up various shades of gold for the throne, toning it back down with glazes and washes, and then highlighting it back up gradually.  For the Emperor himself, we used a similar process, starting with dark flesh tones and working our way up to pure white for the final highlight. 

A little red OSL on a few places, like the diode to the left of the Emperor helped add a little color to the model.  We choose note to use OSL on his lens, since we wanted the Emperor himself to appear seemingly lifeless.  We stippled on a little silver here and there to create a look of worn metal, chipping with time.  In retrospect, we should have been more selective with it’s application and stuck to edges instead of open areas.  A little rust effect would have also gone a long way, maybe a few streaking lines here and there.  There is also room for improvement . . . and jello.  

 Which begs the questions . .  .can you improve Jello? 

 Overhead

 Hail to the King, baby! 

 My name is Caleb and I run and operate White Metal Games, a miniature painting and assembly service.  For inquiries, email us at [email protected] 

So what do you think?  Did we nail it, or did we fall short?  Think you can do better?

PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!!!!!

Greetings fellow wargamers!  Since the Balrog figured was released by GW post the LOTR release, it’s always been one of those figures near and dear to my heart.  The Balrog itself is intimidating enough.  The figure is posed mid stride, fire literally marking it’s passage.  And for $50 some odd dollars, even by today’s standard it’s a pretty fair price for the size of the figure.  GW did another smart thing when they sold the balrog wings for individual sale.  I can’t begin to tell you how many sets of wings I’ve used for transfigurations over the years. 

 I knew I wanted to try my hand at a counts as Skarbrand.  He’s an iconic figure and I love working on daemons.  The balrog was the natural starting point. 

 I suppose I should have swapped his feet for hooves, but any good conversion is also a study in budget, so to keep matter cheap, I just left his cloven feet along.  I swapped the wings for these worn out leathery bat wings from a heroclix model called Su-Bak-Na.  I felt the scale was pretty good, maybe a bit smaller, but perhaps the wings have atrophied through lack of use . . .  .

For the horns I wanted something BIG, like Legend with Tom Cruise big.  So I went to the Cygor kit.  The cygor comes with like 4 sets of horns, so there are tons left over for conversion.  Then I moved the balrog horns lower down the face to create the 2nd set of horns featured in the concept art in the codex/army book.
 

 The right axe is simple a Daemon Prince axe with an extra blade added to the back from the same bit.  Pretty easy stuff.  The left axe is a Khorne icon attached to a spare autocannon barrel, with a gargoyle head added to the barrel.  I actually carved out a niche int he barrel to insert the icon,then glued it into place.

 I used spare bits of Daemon Prince armor to give him some leggings and vambraces.  A heat gun heled met to fit the belts in place around his ankles, as well as bend his fingers around the haft of that autocannon barrel. 

 His shoulder pads are two canopies from some spare Eldar kits I had used for other conversions.  I added the icon, then glued on some spawn bits (drool and tentacles) to simulate blood on his armor.   A little grey stuff helped to blend it all together and complete the effect.

 At this wait I wrapped some jewelers chain, then used the heat gun again to bend a chaos chain around his front torso.  Some spare plastic cloak from an action figure was used as a loin cloth.  I actually built a breast plate too, but it never looked great so I left it off altogether.

 For his shoulders I actually had my first shot at sculpting muscles. Mostly in the past I’ve just filled gaps, but as I get older and more confident I am willing to try more and more ambitious sculpting ventures.  Actually they weren’t that bad.  I just applied sausages and balls of grey stuff in ideal places and then smoothed them into place using some solvent. 

 The hardest part was probably getting the front arms to fit into place between the now ‘comically’ big shoulder muscles and the arm socket.  I actually hard to remove part of the muscle and resculpt it just to get the arms back into position.  Whoops. 

 I left the fiery mane, but plan to paint it as black fur when I paint this bad boy in a few weeks. 

 I also had to clip the rock from the Balrog’s right foot (left in the below picture) to get him back on to the base.  For some reason his legs were a bit warped and didn’t want to fit snuggly.  Fortunately, his right left fit fine, so I just used a little base decoration from this C.o.D kit to cover the gap.

 From the top down. . .

 And now in scale.  That marine doesn’t stand a chance. 

 My name is Caleb and I run and operate White Metal Games.  Be sure to check us out and if you are interested in setting up a commission, contact us at [email protected].  And until then, PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS! 

Caleb, WMG

jd

Greetings fellow wargamers!  A friend of mine wanted an alternative to the Azrael figure offered by GW, but had a limited budget to work with.  He asked me to research a cheap alternative.  And so a new conversion begins . . .

 

 For this particular build, I drew from two bits:  the Dark Vengeance Lord and the Dark Angels Terminator kit.  In the case of the former, the lord already rocks a great vestment, he’s packing a combi plasma on his back, his sword is right on par with the one carried by Azrael.

For the watcher, I used the relic protector from the Deathwing Terminator set.  I simply removed the helmet from the Dark Angels Lord and used that in place of the sword carried by the watch.  I kept the left over sword for battlefield debris to be sued at a later date.  A little grey stuff to smooth over the gaps helped to hide the previous sword blade as well.

For the banner we borrowed the banner from the Deathwing kit . . . it was pinned and grey stuffed over for a bit of extra strength, since these banners LOVE to break off in your carry cases.

 Finally, for the head I selected a Deathwatch Head from my bits box.  The open mouthed/screaming look of the head works well to create a action figure style pose!

Be sure to check out our complete range of services and figures at our website!

And  until then, PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!

Caleb, WMG

Greetings fellow wargamers!  What do you do when life gives you lemons?  Make lemonade.  So what do you do with GW gives you a plague drone?  Easy, you make a fly prince of Nurgle!

For the most part, this was a no nonsense conversion, simple and direct.  We swapped the standard wings with the fly wings of Nurgle, and the lower body with the abdomen from the Plague Drone kit.

 Although at first we considered using the legs from the drone kit, but we wanted the figure to have a distinct look from the drone kit.  We opted for Tyranid legs because they were bulkier than the standar daemon prince legs, which I thought would help offset the bulky distended abdomen.

 To conceal the previous slot for the flying stand, we used a ‘stinger’ taken from one of the legs.  A little bad of glue and we were right as rain.

 Be sure to check back with us at our website in the next few weeks to see it fully painted!  We plan to go full on nurgle style with this bad boy, but also to keep our palette limited so as to not distract from the conversion.

 For shoulder pads, we wanted something different, so we used these defiler bits.

 
 We offer a variety of painting and assembly services.  Be sure to check out our gallery for other custom transfigurations!  

 And until then, PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!  Caleb, WMG

jd

Greetings fellow Wargamers!  Today I present to you an extra special treat.  This custom daemon herald was a perfect storm of bits that just happened to align at the right time.

About a year ago, a client requested a custom Kali inspired daemon prince.  In order to get plenty of arms for this she goddess, I needed some extra arms.  That also means we had a leftover torso.  And what better thing to do with a leftover torso than transfigure it!

 I liked the feminine look of the figure.  It reminded me of the Slaanesh range.  But the script wrapped around her body also reminded me of the Tzeentch range of daemons, like the Blue Scribe!  What to do  . . .can I have my cake and eat it too?  

The answer was to take the best of both worlds.  I selected multiple arms, a trait generally geared toward Slaanesh, but head tentacles, which is generally geared toward Tzeentch.

 For a color scheme, we selected something neutral that would work for either scheme.  We even applied a little OSL to a few areas like the base, and the gland on the head (taken from the Genestealer bits sprue).

 This is just one example of the types of figures we create at White Metal Games.   Be sure to explore our gallery for other custom transfigurations.

 Also, if you like this particular figure, it is currently available through our ebay store!

 White Metal Games offers a variety of painting and assembly services.  Be sure to check us out here!  

 And until then, just check out that ass above . . . I mean . .

 PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!  

Caleb, WMG

jdj

 Greetings fellow wargamers:

I’ve been playing Tyranids a LONG time, and by a long time I mean since the mid 90’s, back when the 2nd edition codex first reared it’s head!  I can still remember that purple binding!  I’ve been in love with the Great Devourer since it first began its consumption of the universe.  But like all great relationships, time brings change.  New editions means new rules and new models.  So what’s a hobbyist to do with all those old pewter hive tyrants, zoanthropes, and hormagaunts?  Why, keeping playing with them, of course!

 Things don’t get old, they just get ‘retro’.  Got an old Zoanthrope?  Convert it up into a Doom!  Got an old metal Gargoyle?  Rework it into a Parasite?  Got an old 3rd Edition Tyrant?  Now we’re talking!  You’ve got some options . . . .

 This baby is a classic.  It’s got many of the features seen in later models, such as the back spines, and hardened ribcage, the plating on it’s forelegs, etc.  But it also has it’s own style.  Back when this figure came out, the head plate was defiantely and Aliens’ rip off and the tyranid ‘style’ was still being developed.  Nowadays the entire army has a definitive feel to it, but these models still have a place in your collection!

The narrow stances of this figure manes it can fit onto a 40mm base comfortably.  The arm sockets are larger enough to accommodate the bites from the current tyranid monstrous creature line.  So that gives you a choice in my book, . . . you can either choose to count this bad boy as a retro hive tyrant (or swarmlord) or count it as a prime.  Since a 40mm base IS the base the model came with, then it’s perfectly legal strickly speaking to do so.

 For this particular figure you can see I swapped the head out for a more modern tyrant head.  I did, however, modify it a great deal.  Firstly I clipped off the horn.  I felt the horn was indicative of hierarchy, so I felt that as a prime he wouldn’t have this.  Secondly, I added a new cranium piece.  It’s a combination of a tyranid warrior head, with a carnifex tail piece, joined with some sculpting work.  Overall, I wanted him to look like a big ass warrior.  I think overall it gives the impression I was going for.  And you won’t have nay trouble trying to get him to stand out on the tabletop, that’s for sure.

 The old pewter figures require a bit more car and work, of course.  This figure’s arms and head had to be pinned and epoxied in place to make sure it would withstand a few games.  Such is the life when bonding metal to plastic.  But it’ll ensure this figure is good to go for another 10 years!

We are White Metal Games, a full service miniature painting and assembly service based out of Raleigh, NC.  We are always looking for new clients that share our love of wargaming and wants some models custom built and painted to their taste!  Check out our gallery here to see more of our work!

What do you think?  Too big for a prime?  Why I showed you mine, why don’t you show me yours!  PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!

Game on!

Caleb, WMG

Greetings fellow wargamers!  When GW first released their Blight Drones at the release of the Chaos Daemons codex, I knew there was conversion gold potential in the product!  My mind was swimming with visions of Fly Princes of Nurgle, Beasts of Nurgle, Spawn, and Drones!  I was struck by how similar the basic shapes of the Plague Drone of Nurgle by GW and the Blight Drone of Nurgle by Forgeworld were, in fact.  But how would they scale up?  That was the question I set out to answer . .. .

 As you can see, size wise, the models are pretty night and day.  I had a sneaking suspicion going in that they wouldn’t be in the same league, but alas, I had to see it for myself.  I’ve heard more than a few people mention the idea of buying a box of Plague Drones and turning them into a squad of whirliwigs of pestilence . .  sit your fears aside, that threat is no longer credible.  Behold, the spoils of a few hours hard work.  I think in friendly games this model would be more than acceptable, but in tournament play . . . well, I wouldn’t risk it.  I’d just go the whole nine yards and buy the official model from Forgeworld.

Now, that being said, a model like this DOES have it’s uses.  It could make a great poor man’s proxy until someone had enough money sit aside to buy a larger drone.  You could build it on your own for less than $30 bucks! (or you can just buy it here and save yourself the labor and time!)

It could make an interesting ‘stealth drone’ maybe with a little less armor, a slightly weaker gun, few hull points, and maybe the stealth or shrouded special rule, or maybe even the scout rule!  Something to sit it apart from it’s bigger brother.

 Finally, I could see this making a fun themed objective marker in a Nurgle army.  Maybe it’s a prototype drone that the forces of Chaos MUST have returned to them!  .

 There are lots of little things I could do to this model to make it a bit more nurglified.  For example, the housings on the vectored engines could be smeared with epoxy and stippled to better match the big daddy drone.  I could have added more hoses to the under body, etc.  But once I’d answered the question of scale to scale to comparison, I felt I had done by duty to the wargaming community, and I find other projects calling my name.

White Metal Games is a full service miniature painting and assembly service.  Check us out here!  

 Be sure to check out our gallery of images, where you’ll find thousands of interesting models like the above.

 Convinced you could do better?  Well, better get your dronies!  Pick up a box from Rob here!