Got a new phone (BB Torch)...

Figured I would try out the camera.  Seems to be a lot better than the old Blackberry Bold.  Anyway, here are a couple of pix of the two last models I've got to finish for the Brawler Bash.  First up is a Rune Lord.  Then there is my new Dwarf Lord Conversion.  He will be on shield bearers and brandishing an awesome shield.  Took me almost 1/2 an hour to get those eyes painted.  Then I realized they may not even be visible behind the fricken shield!

Slayer Hero

I started the hero last night and finished him today when I got home from work.  I've noticed that my painting has really been improving of late.  I attribute it to one key tip - water down your paint!  It allows to build up the colors slowly layer by layer.  I still have to varnish and put on the final blood effect.  Well, here are the pix, enjoy.  I would love to hear what you think, do you think I'm improving?

Here is what he looks like with his mates!

Cannon

Here is a better picture of the new cannon crew.  I'm getting proficient painting gems and lenses!

Painting Slayer Hair

One tip that I found that gets better results is to mix a little white paint into the base coat.  This makes the first layer cover much better.  When a second layer of the base coat is applied it "pops".  It also makes putting the second coat on easier as I can tell what areas have already been covered. 

Here is what I'm talking about.

Display Board

I spent Sunday getting the Brawler Bash display board near completion.  For making the edge of the foam I dug out my Hotwire Foam Factory set.  While I realize that it was probably overkill for the limited cutting I was doing, every time I use it I am reminded of just how awesome these tools are.  To make the hills I took 1" extruded polystyrene (pink or blue stuff) and cut two pieces.  I glued the pieces together and down to the cork.  I wish I would have remembered how much I HATE liquid nails. While it does make a nice bond it goes on so thick that there is always a gap. I think added a little sand at the bottom of the edges.  Then I painted it up with my Storm Gray, Hippo Gray and Drizzle Gray dry brush.  In retrospect I wish I would have covered the entire surface with sand as it would have made the dry brushing much easier on the flat surfaces.  I will probably add a little flock/grass, paint the frame and then call it a day.  If I had more time I would do more with it.  But I don't have the time so I won't!

Work continues

I have the 9 Slayers and the new cannon completed except there bases.  That leaves me with just 3 character models to paint by Thursday.  At this point that is a cake walk!  I tried something different on my cannon crew, I gave them red tunics.  It definitely pops but it sort of detracts from the orange beards.  From now on I will stick with the brown leather tunics.  Pardon the pix, it turns out that my Galaxy Tab takes awful pictures!  Even worse than my Blackberry.  One question I do have is does anyone know of a good technique to paint flaming hot coals?  I painted them up from black to white and they sort of looked like rocks.  I then redid the top half use red, yellows and oranges.  Don't think I got it.  Tomorrow I have to start and finish the display base.  We will see how it goes.

Slay me some music...

So I'm working on the the Slayers and I what I find most interesting is that they are pulling me in and making me spend way more time on them then I should.  I guess it is because I've not had a chance to paint flesh in so long that I feel compelled to take a little further.  Before I jumped in I took a quick refresher course on painting flesh from the Painting Clinic.  If you haven't seen any of Tony's videos you should really check them out.  I used to game at Brookhurst Hobbies (Southern California) back in the day with Tony and believe me when I say that his stuff will make you cry in person, it's that good.  He is an amazing painter. 

So back to the Slayers.  They are coming along nicely as I've really only have the beards and some minor details left on them.  Here is a pic of my almost finished musician.  I went pretty pale on the skin using just Dwarf Flesh, Elf Flesh and Pale Flesh paints.  Hopefully I will learn a few tricks when doing up these 9 slayers so when I turn my attention to my Slayer hero he will turn out amazing.