Mushroom Men

Here's some more color to add to my Low Life collection. These are Reaper's Mushroom men (No. 2679) and Mushroom King (No. 3041), all sculpted by Jason Wiebe.

They were easy to paint, but there were a lot of details to take care of such as the spots on top of the caps, the mushroom growths on all of the figures' backs, and especially the king's staff. But everything went off without a hitch, and now I have probably my most colorful figures so far.

It was fun to dig out some brighter colors; they don't get a lot of play on my table, but that'll probably change with the incoming Low Life figures. 

This other figure is another random Reaper figure I pulled off the shelf to finish for Jeff. I think that leaves me with just two or three of his figures to paint before the Bones tsunami.

Reaper hordlings

I got these little guys to beef up my Low Life miniatures collection which, as it turns out, doesn't need any more beef after a very successful Kick Starter campaign. These are Reapers Hordlings (No. 3573). I tore the wings off the purple hordling- I wanted him to look a little less like a baby Cthulhu (which I also have somewhere around here). I saved the wings, though. I might use them on something else, even as tiny as they are.

These wee fellas stand close to 20mm tall. They resemble scary ass muthas (one of the creatures from the Low Life universe), having little monsterous bodies and long, spindly limbs, so I will use these as either low-level scary ass mutha leaders, or as simply some more distinctive scary ass muthas to go along with the batch that already comes in the Kick Starter package.  (There are also the Scarier Ass Mutha and the Queen Mutha.)

Painting these was easy; I basecoated with the shade color, drybrushed the middle hue, and then took a tiny bit more effort in picking out the highlights. Then I painted eyes and mouths black (sort of as a "re-priming") and finished those up with a green (eyes) and bone (teeth.)  I like these little guys; I might pick up a few more, but I'll wait to see how much painting is headed my way with the other Low Life miniatures. (I also have Bones figures and, maybe later, some more post-apoc gladiators coming in the next few weeks.)

In the meantime, I also have some of Reaper's Mushroom Men (sculpted by Jason Wiebe who is doing many of Low Life's miniatures.) The mushroom men are proving a touch difficult- there is a lot of detail on them. Perhaps they won't actually be "difficult," they'll just take a little longer as I (try to) take my time working on all the details (there are mushrooms upon mushrooms, though only three actual figures).

Confrontation barbarian

Grabbed another random unfinished figure out of the pile today. This old Confrontation figure has sat on my shelf partially painted for a couple years, and it took me all of 1/2 hour to finish him.

I didn't do anything special with him, no conversion work, no special painting techniques. He'll have a nice spot on the display shelf along with the other barbarians.

I still love the old Confrontation figures. They have lots of detail, but the detail is usually well-defined and easy to paint; there's just a lot of it, and it can get a little overwhelming if you have a lot of figures to paint. I don't know where I got the energy to do three different armies (for other friends) when the game was ascending.

You are under my spell; Ben Franklin wants to join Andy Hopp

Do not turn away! Look into my eyes ... you are getting sleepy- no wait, don't fall asleep, I need you to hear my message ... your mind is becoming compliant; it wishes to do my bidding ... Go to the Low Life kickstarter website and spend your money. Spend it. Spend it allllll.....

"But Carmen, I just spent my savings on Relic Knights and Reaper Bones."

Fie on little anime girls and vinyl monsters! Do you have children? Then I'm sure you have a college fund for them; they won't miss a hundred bucks. Spend it ... just a little ... they can miss a semester at Brown. Spend it all! Mwah HA HA HA!!!

The project is in its final days. If you want in on the weirdest miniatures you've ever seen, then the time is now ... now ... keep looking into my eyes ... spend your money on crazy minis ... drop a fat stack on a lead pile .. (I don't know, I heard that on the streets once.) Now, I will count to three and then snap my fingers, and you- ah nevermind.

I'm still thinking (just entertaining the notion) of pledging at the $500 level to create my own figure. If I did, I would create Carman the Cremefillian! Who scaled the Tower of the Plorp to learn its inner secrets. Who defied the Frosting Giants of the North. Who sacked the city of Delirium and who would become Creme King by his own hand. Thief, warrior, lover!

Now go and spend your money.
Click here,
 or here,
or here! They all go to the same place - mwahAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!

Vincarlo Orisini: Duelist

This is Reaper (Pathfinder) figure No. 60121 Vincarlo Orisini. I had been looking for a good fighter to use as a D&D character; I wanted something simpe - no armor, no backpack or adventuring gear, no ribbons, no random skull buckles or details or hats with feathers - just a man and his sword.

I kept the paint scheme simple to match the figure, though I did go with the red shirt to brighten him up a little. The figure started off with a broader sword blade (scabbard?), but I went ahead and clipped it away and replaced it with a more finessed rapier blade in a scabbard (made with a piece of brass rod). I did this mostly for strength. A lot of my figures that get used on the D&D table go back to the shelf with bent staffs, swords and spikes. Though, this figure will stay with me (the others are Jeff's, who runs the D&D games), so I'm not too concerned with wear and tear. Still, I like to play it safe with something I put my time into.

For the base, I used green stuff to fill in a lipped display base. Then I sculpted out a few flagstones bordering a planked floor, and accented the whole thing with a few patches of grass.

Low Life: Just a reminder, there are only a few days left on Low Life miniature's Kick Starter program. These figures aren't for everyone, but if you're a painter like me, then I think it'd do you good to grab a few of these (if not all of them) to throw under the brush. You cannot resist. Give in. Give in!

Dreadball proxy figures (some old friends)

None of my friends seem too keen on playing Dread Ball, but I'd still like to get the basics to try out (I know my friends will at least try it.) Still, $100 is a lot of money to spend on something that might not get played but once or twice (oh, it'll look pretty and be fun painting, but still- I could just draw a dirty picture on a $100 bill and be happy with that.)

The compromise I'm looking to is to get a digital copy of the rules, as well as, hopefully, the deck of game cards which seem to be needed (Hopefully they'll be provided as an add-on in the Kickstarter.) I can make my own pitch (though, I might at least chip in for the MDF pitch), and I have plenty of Blood Bowl figures (four full teams) AND they're all painted. I have yet to play my Bad Bay Hackers, though. I took them out and determined who would be the strikers, guards and jacks. It was pretty easy to figure out; Hell, I even have a coach, some cheerleaders and a referee figure (all will be able to be used in Dread Ball.)

I have an ork team, too- they were even easier to figure out since the Dreadball orx only have two positions (Guards and Jacks). Even easier than the orks are my team of Wood elves: Judwan strikers -- done. Damn, that was easy.

Rules, pitch, figures and dice I have. The hard part will be getting the required game cards. Hopefully, Mantic will offer them as an add-on for their Kickstarter project. I don't see why not; there is a pledge level for just the digital rules -- the rules are no good without the cards. I'd even settle for some print-your-own cards.

Coach Xeno Horror Q27-113 in the Ulysses Astrologue

Coach? Yes, coach Xeno Horror Q27 etc etc. I've backed the Dreadball Kickstarter, and one of the things the game will use is coaches (as in there'll be actual effects he can bring to the game.) I have nothing against the coach art concepts Mantic Games has come up with, I just enjoy making my own. And what better coach to get a team into shape than this aberration, who inspires well-executed plays and fewer dropped passes.

This figure started off as Dr. Hugh (II) from Heresy. I chopped his head and replaced it with tentacles much in the same way as I did my Nyarlathotep.

I also mounted this figure on one of my older Mantic 15mm bases. That way, the figure will fit into one of the hex bases that will come with the Dreadball game. (Whether the coach in the game actually needs a hex base doesn't matter to me; I'm just going to do it so he fits in better with the team.)

A few Reaper figures

This is a small batch of Reaper figures for Jeff. The figure second from left is a Bones figure. I'm still having trouble with the primer drying tacky onto these, but I've read that some folks simply wash the figures first and the primer dries fine. I'll have enough figures to try out when Jeff (AND Charlie) dump their 400+ Bones figures on me (Damn you, Kick Starterrrr!!!!!) 

One thing I love about the Bones figures is the ease in doing conversions. On this particular figure, it took me all of 5 minutes to remove his arm, drill, add a pin and reposition the arm to hold the sword more across his body. I also drilled and added a long pin to one of his legs to give him strength; the plastic is a little bendy. I'm not worried about him breaking at the ankles, I just wanted that movement limited so as not to stress and crack or tear the paint (though the acrylic has a lot of flexibility; I just like to be safe with figures that will get a lot of play on the table.)

Other than these, I haven't painted much in the past couple weeks. I've been watching over the Low Life Miniatures and Dreadball Kick Starters. Along with Jeff and Charlie's Bones figures, I'm going to have minis to paint for the rest of this and next year. My luck, that's going to be when all the cool shit comes out. 

I do have a few more Reaper figures on the way, though- stuff I can paint for me before the Boneswarm. A nice swordsman and a few random things I picked up (mushroom men, hordlings) that will go well with the Low Life stuff.

Cornthulu

Maybe a touch expensive for my taste, but much too large to fit in my apartment, the Low Life miniatures Kickstarter has added this massive Cornthulu figure. The figure is over a foot tall. His price varies from $110 to $90 depending on if you're already at different funding levels at the KS site.

The other figure is my personal favorite, a cremefillian riding a mutant land fish. This figure will stand around 80mm tall (and aside from a couple dragons, will be the largest mini I'll have painted so far.) Hey, and he comes with a pile of dead fish! How many figures can claim that honor?

After Labor Day weekend, the project really got rolling; there are a lot of minis available now.

There are photos of two finished greens on the KS site. They look great (for what they are.) Certainly, they will be fun to paint. On top of that, Andy Hopp is working on a miniatures game that can use these figures (all the figures from this project will get stat cards that can be used in the upcoming game's own Kickstarter project.)

Me, I'm just getting them for their messed-up, imaginative styling. That and Andy is a crazy, loveable guy.

Take a look at the Low Life KS for more information. Just click on the Low Life pic at the top left of this page.

Next sale: War Rocket, the 523rd Squadron

The whole lot is $300 -- that's a LOT more than I usually sell stuff at, but I actually kinda like these figures; I'm a touch reluctant to let them go, but I know they'll never see any action if they stay with me.

The lucky money-giver will not only get a full size ready-to-go fleet (includes shipping, a Chessex figure case and a couple smallish random cargo craft), but you will also get a small history behind these ships, after all, this is the 523rd Squadron - Sagan's Sideshow!

You'll also get bragging rights: You can tell your opponents that the artist who did the illustration on the back of the War Rocket rulebook sold you this, his own beautiful fleet.

Many of the Class 2 ships have been slightly modified with sensor humps or other small fuselage modifications (because, as the history goes, this squadron is technically a survey squadron, but it likes to fight). All the ships are mounted with brass rods onto lipped bases that have been leveled off with green stuff.

If you're interested, send me an email at evilcartoonist at yahoo. Domestic U.S. orders only (shipping is pricey.)

Fleet make-up:

1 x Class 3 Ship with a little radar dish I added
8 x Class 2 ships with various small modifications (mostly sensory equipment)
12 x Class 1 ships: 8 are painted in the 523rd's colors, 2 are painted in the yellow/silver of the old Star eagles squadron (predecessor of the 523rd), and 2 are prototype paints I tried out when I was working out a color scheme for this fleet.
2 x small auxiliary craft I made from green stuff and a few random bits.
(There is still a little bit of space left in the case for a couple more Class 1 or Class 2 ships.)
Note on photos: The names are the call signs. They're all carnival-related since the squadron is called Sagan's "sideshow." Also, I reused a couple fighters in the photos below. There are four not shown: two fighters have grey noses with yellow fuselages, and two have silver fuselages instead of the gray. But they have the same level of skill applied to them - in other words, they'll fit right in!

Just some more Dread Ball uniform plates

These are fairly easy to make, so I threw together a few more ideas for uniforms for Dread Ball. I've included all of the uniforms (including from my last post) just for completion's sake.

Dread Ball: Creating team colors

While the Low Life Miniatures Kick Starter rolls merrily along, I decided to also back the Dread Ball game. I love Blood Bowl, but I read the rule design notes to Dread Ball, and Blood Bowl it is not. In fact, it seems to have made a bunch of improvements (or it at least does a few things differently.)

Anyway, my favorite part of any new minis is creating the world, or in the case of Dread Ball where the world already exist, creating a team. There's not a lot of fluff (ok, none at all) attached to any of these teams; they are just team colors and names for now.

From left to right, they are the IotaCom Rockets, The Bolide Boomers, The Moon Bay Hackers (a little tribute to my Blood Bowl team Bad Bay Hackers), and the GammaCorp Redshifters. I'm going to paint up two teams. One will be the IotaCom Rockets, but I'm not sure what the second team will be.

I'll also be receiving an orc team. I'm not sure what their main color will be, but they will get an ample coating of rust over it, so color may be irrelevant.

Note: The above team colors were done by downloading a pic of one of the Dread Ball figures, using Photoshop to remove the color, and then using the colorization feature to create the uniform colors.

Low Life: First green wip is posted

Over at the Low Life Kickstarter site, they've released the first pic of a green in progress. I think Jason Wiebe is doing a good job so far capturing Andy Hopp's art style. I can't wait to see more- and to see one finished.

This particular figure is the cremefillian Walloping Krong wielding his Dammit Hammer.

(It wasn't a very good pic, so I've tried to clean it up a bit here. The little wisp of brown on the left side is the armature for the other arm.)

Why I believe in selling for a fair price

So I was happy to sell my armies today. I think I sold them for a fair price. But I've seen a couple notes and heard from my friends that maybe I should have gone the eBay route (especially considering the two armies I just sold were in heavy demand). Everyone had the same reason for using eBay: I could get a lot more money out of it.

It's like my mom telling me I shouldn't just give away my drawings and paintings and drawings (another hobby I'm heavy into) when I could charge a lot of money for them. I agree that I could make some good money selling some of the stuff I have. But I thought about it, and it's just not who I am.

I'm certainly not going to undersell myself; I'm going to charge the cost of the minis plus a price I feel is fair for the painting time and skill I dedicated to the figures (and I'll charge extra for those items that might hold a little sentimental value). But I'm not going to gouge people (even though on eBay, the gouge amount is what someone out there is probably willing to pay.) I'm an honest man who loves his hobby and wants others to enjoy it without having to spend all their money to do so.

I discussed a similar situation a while back with some friends: I've donated blood every chance I can since the 9/11 attacks. Most of my friends give plasma for a weekly check. They tell me I should give plasma so that I can make money. I told them I prefer to donate - to give to something bigger than myself. They countered with, "Well, the hospital is going to profit from your donation, so you might as well make some money, too."

I agree with them that the hospital is going to profit from my donation. But even though I can profit, I choose not to. Just like a box of fairly priced miniatures, my blood donation is my gift to give.

Pulp armies sold

Thank you to everyone who took a look at my sale for the Back of Beyond/Pulp armies, but they've both been sold. Quite a few of you made an offer, (but only one was quickest on the draw.)

In the future, I might be selling more figures. Right now, I'm eyeing my Foundry gladiators (poorly painted or not painted at all, but a lot of them), my old Foundry AWI army (lots of infantry), my 28mm prehistoric collection (not sure about this one; it's unused but still has a small amount of sentimental value), and maybe some random OLD school (as far back as 1992) Games Workshop Empire figures.

Keep an eye out in the next few months. I'll be selling stuff when I need the space and/or pocket change.

Blood Bowl teams

Looking at the Dread Ball kickstarter project got me in the mood to dig out my Blood Bowl stuff. I found my orks who were close to being finished, so I finished them.

This was one of the plastic teams that came with the box set (my plastic human team still needs to be painted.) Since they were plastic, I kept the painting simple, splashing on quick layers. This was aided since the plastic isn't highly detailed.

And since I had them out (and since some of you may not have seen them yet), I took photos of my other two painted teams, a wood elf team I painted up as harlequins (this was my first-ever Blood Bowl team), and my Bad Bay Hackers team (a mix of humans and barbarians from various manufacturers, all inspired by the Killer Contract comic book series.)