Space Cadets: Rocketeers

And here are my Rocketeers for Space Cadets: Away Missions. Nothing much innovated here; I painted them up just like on the box.

I'm happy that I got everything painted up so fast. It's nice to get a project cleared off the table before the next one arrives (I have two minis games "scheduled" to arrive in October -- Dragon Tides and Mercs.) In the interim, I should be able to finish up some older 40mm samurai (and maybe the newer palanquin retinue, too.)

You need brains to play Space Cadets: Away Missions

I didn't count the hours (let's say it was three,) but I painted my entire alien force in two sittings for the new board game, Space Cadets Away Missions.

For Zombicide, there were three main factors steering me toward monochrome zombies:
-- If they were full color, the survivor figures would have blended in with the zombies on the board.
-- I wanted to pay tribute to the first Romero movie (Night of the Living Dead.)
-- I wanted to get everything painted fast.

Well, for Space Cadets, I certainly wanted to get everything done fast, but I wasn't sure at the last moment if I wanted to go monochrome. So I compromised. I drybrushed the uniforms and weapons in silver. The I drybrushed the heads in three shades of green (starting with light green, highlighting with yellow.) The effect was good enough for me!
I did do the leeches, bugs and sentinels in monochrome green, though. Instead of tying everything together with one monochromatic color, I tied them altogether with the simple scheme: Green/silver.
I think it worked. Everything is in "full color," and everything is easily identifiable.

How I did the brains/step-by-step

The tinted resin serves the double purpose of looking like liquid and keeping the jar glued together. And it's pretty easy to do.

Paint and Primer: Use Army Painter Black matte primer (best for pvc plastics, I think) and then whatever acrylic paint you prefer

Jars masked off before priming and everything painted.

1: Mask of the clear cylinders so that you don't get primer on the clear portion. Be sure to pinch off the bottom of the tape so that any primer won't sneak in through the bottom.
2: Prime everything. Keep the tape on and paint the top portion of the jar. Once dry, go ahead and peel off your masking tape.
3: Go ahead and prime and paint the bottom portion of the brain in jar (the pedestal and the brain.)
4: Prepare some two-part epoxy resin (I like five-minute). Now place just a TOUCH of red paint into your resin, just enough to tint it. It's an unbelievably small amount you'll need.
5: Use a toothpick to gently drop some of the resin into the jars. It's difficult to gauge, but I try to fill them about half way -- remember that there will be some brain filling the remainder of the jar.
6: Place the jar over the base and push together. They should slip/snap right in.

Braaaaaains! Oops, wrong game.

Zombicide: Film and Television

To scratch the Zombicide itch while I (we) wait for the Black Plague pledge manager, I finished up a few more survivors from the last KS campaign. These are most of the film and TV survivors. It was fun to get back and paint survivors again.

I still have samurai, Mice and Mystics, and Space Cadets on the way. Plenty to paint! I also don't have internet at home anymore, so these posts might slow down a little. Might; I've already slowed a bit the past few months as my painting mojo weakened. It's slowly building again though. Hopefully, my Space Cadets will arrive in the next few days: I have vacation starting this weekend, and I'll be staying home, so I'll have plenty of painting time. Space Cadets equals more monochromatic fun!

Samurai and Mice and Mystics

I'm still working heavily on my Mouse watercolors, so I don't get to the minis table as often as I want, but today, I made some small gains.

The new Mice and Mystics spin-off game, Tailfeathers, went into preorder today, so I ordered a box. That's when I realized I still hadn't finished painting all of my previous Mice and Mystics figures. So I dug them out and got my firebellies finished up. Tailfeathers is a skirmish game and has unit cards available so that owners of the original Mice and Mystics boxes/expansions can use those figures and units.

I kept my firebellies simple and actually speed-painted them. The skin was all drybrushed, and the rest of the paint slap-dabbered everywhere. I usually do this with most of my figures that come in units. Individuals still get a little extra devoted time.

I also got another peasant finished for my 40mm samurai collection. This is a figure converted from the baggage carrier. Hopefully, I'll get some drive enough to finish up the remainder of my samurai. I'd like to at least get the samurai done before my copy of Space Cadets arrives; there will be a couple hundred (I bought extras) miniatures with that game, though, I'll be painting them monochromatically, so they shouldn't take too long. But I'd like to have the table clear before those arrive.

Still working on samurai; Also Soccer City

I'm still working on my samurai. I'm trying to finish up the previous order of samurai which will form the core of my new clan (so that I can have two clans to fight one another.)
Once they're finished, I just have some baggage carriers to paint up before finishing up with my kago/norimono/palanquin.

On the side, I've also been doing more of my Mouse and Friends art as well as working on a book for them.

Check out the Soccer City kickstarter, which has just a couple days left to run (and has made its goal.) Definitely not for everyone -- it's soccer, a sports boardgame, and the look is all retro (1920s-30s,) but it's something different than the usual.

It also has minis!! (at an added cost.) At first, I was a little put off by the high price for the minis (which is reduced if you get the package deal,) but then I saw that the figures will be 40mm; that will make for a great-looking game. Each team you purchase will have 11 figures, though, you'll only have eight + the goalie on the field at any one time.

The other thing about the figures is that it looks like they're being sculpted to match the art -- cartoonish -- so, again, not for everyone. I know I will at least enjoy painting them (and playing the game.)
Even if you don't plan on pledging, check it out here.

42mm samurai: Bodyguard

Here's a bodyguard (or just a samurai walking in the park.) I commissioned him as part of the retinue, to escort the kago as a bodyguard. But he'll work fine alone walking the Tokaido, going to a duel, or looking for a little entertainment in the Yoshiwara.

The head comes separately to allow for customization by using any of the numerous other heads in the collection (there should be about a dozen now.) The ladies from the previous post, however, do not come with separate heads (though there is enough neck line to take a hack saw to them if you want to do a headswap.) Otherwise, this samurai comes as one piece and is very easy to prepare and paint. I would recommend him (and the ladies) to beginning painters.

42mm Samurai: Ladies

Here's another of the brand new figures in Steve Barber's samurai range.
The figure comes with the parasol. The lady in green, I've used a piece of brass rod to create a walking stick.

The more ornate orange kimono was very easy to paint. I started by painting the entire kimono orange, then painting a couple areas of grey which was blended into the orange. Then I highlighted as usual (layering with Foundry triads.)
Next came the tree trunks and branches in black. After that dried, I stippled some blue blossoms over the tree, followed with another stippling of light blue to highlight the blossoms.
And finally, a simple three-dot pattern was repeated to fill in empty areas. I finished with the obi and repeated the kimono pattern on the parasol.

She will accompany my little kago retinue.

Close up, it looks OK, but the effect is great from afar (I paint my figures to be viewed from afar, such as when you're playing them on a gaming table.) Ornate floral patterns really only need to be inferred rather than painted in detail (unless you're trying to win a painting competition.)

I kept the lady in green much simpler. She was my test figure to get a feel for the new sculpt. This sculpt is amazingly easy to paint. If you're looking something fun and easy to paint, I recommend this one.

42mm Samurai: Gone fishing

Busy week at work kept me form the painting table until today. This fisherman was converted from a brand new figure in Steve Barber's 42mm samurai range. The original figure is a baggage carrier for a kago/norimono retinue, but it is easily convertible into a few different figures.

Here, instead of baggage, I've given him a rod (made from brass rod and twine.) The bucket is a thick disk of sculpey with a random bit to make it look like it has a center-hinged lid. I drilled a hole through the lower hand and passed twine through it and the bucket to create a carrying handle. The satchel on his belt in back is made from green stuff.
This was a fun figure to make. It's also the first civilian I have in the collection, now. With more to follow!

I also finished up a couple figures from the last bunch I bought from Steve. I'll probably try a different color scheme -- the gray is ok, but I think I'll go with a slightly olive green instead. Yep, it means I'll probably paint over these -- the clothing anyway. It wont be too difficult. They are in the same scheme because I'm going to make this batch into a new clan (I already have one clan; they need rivals.)

The master to the right is unconverted. The yamabushi to the left has a couple changes from the original figure: I used the bald head of a monk archer instead of the one with the little yamabushi cap. And instead of the bo staff held in the back hand, I made him a katana to hold in his front hand.

Three-time Petrichor City 400 winner

The art busy-ness is increasing. Today, I did some minor work on my samurai, but I also found time to throw this "Mouse and Friends" acrylic painting together (1' x 2'.)

It commemorates Raccoon's third win in the Petrichor City 400. Raccoon, before he came to meet Mouse, at one time raced for the Quick Pickle Team. Quick Pickle manufactures and sells pickle-dispensing vending machines.

42mm Japanese civilians

Here are all of the new figures. The kago is not yet glued to the carriers, so I can get them easily painted first. The two figures in the center of the photo below are converted from the baggage carrier figures (I like my fisherman.) And the lady with the walking stick is also a (very slight) conversion of the core figure with the parasol. All other figures are as-is, save for the addition of brass rod and thread lashings here and there.

I still need to doublecheck for gaps where arms are attached and fill'em with green stuff, but otherwise, all the figures are cleaned up, assembled and ready for priming.

I did make one big mistake: There were two large panels to make up the kago roof, and the two pieces are supposed to be peaked (like an upside-own "V") over the beam. I actually prefer my flat roof, and there are enough kago/norimono styles to justify it, so no biggie. I'll assemble the next one as it's supposed to be modeled.

Kago retinue wip

Just keeping you up to date on the kago progress (and trying to get back to good blog-posting habits.)
Here are my two baggage carriers, dry-fitted together. I replaced the yokes with brass rod for durability, and some thread lashings for added strength and stability. I filed out shallow grooves on the shoulders of my carriers so that the yokes settle in nicely; they are also and are balanced.

I have four baggage carriers, but I'm converting the other two into peasants. One will have a yoke with two buckets, while the other will be carrying a bucket in one hand and a fishing rod over his shoulder. I may commission a couple more civilians/peasants in the future; I'd like to have a few for a nice little scene on the tokaido. The core figure that makes up the kago and baggage carriers is ripe for conversion ideas; all I need are some different arms (the left arm comes separate) and maybe a new head or two. Maybe I can get Steve to sculpt me some Japanese buckets, too -- I hate making my own :)

The whole retinue is coming along slowly but surely. I just do a little bit each evening, which is all I have time for right now. Plenty of other things to do: I'm working on a children's book; I'm reading Moby Dick (and enjoying the hell out of it); and I'm working longer hours at work while one of my staff is on vacation. But I think this set is worth the wait and patience.

Steve Barber's 42mm Norimono

Thanks to Allison for letting me know that the "Kago" is actually the simpler, commoner's version of the Japanese palanquin, and that the more elaborate versions are actually called norimono, though, I think mine is a little on the low-end side of elaboration compared to some of the museum pieces I've seen.

Still, I will continue to call it a kago, only because it's shorter to type :)
Anyway, here is mine all assembled. Ideally, the larger kago should have four carriers (I think,) but I didn't want this model to get too overwhelming.I think a four-carrier version of this model could easily be made with the addition of a longer yoke and two more carrier figures.

To give you an idea of the size, the base these are on is 50mm x 100mm (figures are 42mm). The next thing I'm trying to figure out is if I'm going to paint the carriers and then afix them to the kago yoke, or assemble the how thing and paint it all at once. Has anyone here done something like a stagecoach or wagon with team? How did you approach the paint? Everything as one piece, or each element separately and then assemble?