The Artificer's Studio

The Burrowing Beast

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

I actually painted last night, I know! Take a look and bask in my almost awesomness!

Primed white and airbrushed with one colour, brown

Two colours, pre-shading with grey

Five colours, brown, tan, grey,red, orange and white

I need to clear coat it, oil wash and clean it up. Not bad for two hours work.

NEW FORGE WORLD RELEASES

2011-12-23T08:37:00.001-05:00

Here is the latest offerings form Forge World;
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IMPERIAL ARMOUR 11: THE DOOM OF MYMEARA

The Imperial ice world of Betalis III is under attack from the combined might of three massive Eldar war hosts. Their motivation for attacking this seemingly insignificant planet is unknown, but General Myndoras Odon of the Cadian 6th Armoured Regiment is intent on bringing about the total destruction of these Eldar invaders. Wielding the might of three Imperial Guard regiments and joined by the savage strength of Bran Redmaw’s Great Company and the colossal power of Titans from the Legio Gryphonicus, the Eldar of Craftworld Mymeara, Craftworld Alaitoc and their Corsair allies may soon regret attacking one of the Emperor’s worlds.

Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara provides a detailed account of the Eldar invasion, as well as background and rules for its protagonists, the Eldar of Craftworlds Mymeara and Alaitoc, their Corsair kin and the forces of the Imperium. Also included are profiles for new special characters, machines of war, and a new Eldar Warrior Aspect squad, the Shadow Spectres. This 224-page full colour hardback book, written by Talima Fox, is packed with vehicle and infantry profiles, three Apocalypse datasheets, a campaign section and an Eldar Corsair army list. In addition the book also contains a detailed background and technical section covering the existing Forge World Eldar range.

Macharius Omega

While the sins of innovation and initiative are frowned upon by the Adeptus Mechanicus, new patterns and designs of weapons and armoured vehicles are still created. The Macharius Omega is one such vehicle, created with a single focus, that of the battlefield deployment of the Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun. The STC for this weapon was originally discovered by Explorator-Magus Hum’nal in late M39, but a Mechanicus schism over the purity and completeness of its template delayed the testing and eventual deployment of the Omega pattern weapon for centuries

Deimos Pattern Predator

The Predator is a highly effective medium tank designed to provide Space Marine detachments with heavy fire support in the heat of battle. An ancient and revered design, cited by the Codex Astartes as a spiritual mentor, no less, there are almost as many patterns of Predator as there are of the ubiquitous Rhino hull it is based upon. One such variant is the Deimos Pattern Predator, first issued en-masse to the Space Marine Legions of the Great Crusade. Artificer-crafted by the finest machine-wrights of the great forge-complexes of Mars, the Deimos Pattern Predator has since been modified to the ‘Annihilator’ variant by those Chapters who are supplied with this pattern.

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The Deimos Pattern Predator has me hot and bothered. The original Predator model was my first Warhammer 40,000 kit and has a special place for me. It really hit a nostalgic note with me. Keep an eye peeled for an actual painting update from me soon!

Forge World Newsletters 288, 289, 290

2011-12-07T08:27:00.017-05:00

So, I've been really busy and work and have not had a chance to update so here is a big push;

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Forge World Newsletter #288

ELDAR PHANTOM TITAN POWER GLAIVE

The Phantom Ti tan is the mightiest of all the war machines fielded by the ancient and advanced xenos Eldar. Towering above the battlefield, these cyclopean war machines are commanded by a single Steersman, yet this single crewman does not pilot his charge completely alone.Assisted by the spirit stones of long-dead Steersmen, the living pilot is able to merge his consciousness with those of his predecessors, allowing the Phantom to react and manoeuvre with nearly the same preternatural swiftness as an Eldar infantryman.For a Phantom to be deployed the threat must be dire indeed, and the weaponry of these mighty Titans varies depending on the nature of the foe they will face. When ranged against enemy super-heavy walkers a Steersman will commonly arm his Titan with a Phantom Power Glaive, a long and shimmering sword similar in appearance to those wielded by Eldar Aspect Warriors, using the Phantom’s speed and agility to close with and destroy their opponents.

IRILLYTH PHOENIX LORD OF THE SHADOW SPECTRES

Once a disciple of Asurmen, first of the Eldar Phoenix Lords, Irillyth the Shade of Twilight founded the Shrine of the Shadow Spectres on the Craftworld of Mymeara. Drawn to the small Craftworld in response to a vision of doom and horror, Irillyth gifted the skills of stealth, swiftness and all-consuming firepower to the warriors of Mymeara. After many years, the Phoenix Lord led a great war host to the legend-shrouded world of Bethalmae to destroy a race that would, many thousands of years later, arise to threaten Craftworld Mymeara. Neither he nor any of his warhost ever returned to the Craftworld, and with the loss of their Phoenix Lord the Shadow Spectre aspect fell into decline.

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Forge World Newletter #289

LAND RAIDER ARMOURED PROTEUS

The ancient and venerable Land Raider has served the Adeptus Astartes since its earliest beginnings, and many variants and patterns are recorded in the data-stacks of Mars. Adepts of the hallowed Adeptus Mechanicus collectively refer to the oldest of these as the ‘Proteus’ patterns, and examples of these mighty armoured vehicles that survive into the dark days of the 41st Millennium are held in the highest regard, war-relics beyond compare to the Chapters that possess them.
Believed by certain war-savants to be an example of sacred machine-evolution, the Land Raider Armoured Proteus displays early features of the MkIIb Land Raider, enclosing its twin-linked lascannons in bulky armoured sponsons and adding to this formidable anti-armour firepower with a limited traverse twin-linked heavy bolter recessed into the forward hull armour.
The Land Raider Armoured Proteus, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, is a highly detailed full resin kit, linking the design of our various Land Raider kits together and providing an excellent centrepiece for any Space Marine force. The side sponsons feature blank doors, and in addition the side hatches from our Rhino Door Sets are fully compatible with this kit just as the side doors from our Land Raider Door Sets are with the standard Land Raider Proteus. This kit is available to order now for immediate despatch.

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Forge World Newletter #290

Graia Pattern Rapier Laser Destroyer

The Rapier Armoured Carrier is an ancient device, one of many such technological relics of the dawning days of Mankind’s stellar empire; a bulky, armoured track unit which mounts a powerful antomantic reactor. The Rapier is often armed with a powerful quad lascannon known as a laser destroyer. This has become synonymous with the Rapier Armoured Carrier itself, and the Graia Pattern Rapier Laser Destroyer is perhaps the most common design of this potent anti-tank weapon.
Designed by Will Hayes, the Graia Pattern Rapier Laser Destroyer is a finely detailed full resin kit, which contains parts to build optional Cadian crew, and can be used in several different armies.

Contemptor Pattern Autocannon

This weeks second release is another weapon option for the ancient and hallowed Contemptor Dreadnought. The eagerly-awaited Contemptor Pattern Autocannon, designed by Will Hayes, is fully compatible with both the standard Contemptor Dreadnought and the Relic Contemptor.

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Well, there they are. I'm eagerly awaiting my Proteus Land Radiers to arvive. They should be sweet!

Forge World Newsletter #287

2011-11-08T07:02:00.000-05:00

So, I've been off-line all weekend (plus Monday), and it's been bliss. So, now I'm starting my work week off with new Forge World goodness!
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MkIc Deimos Pattern Rhino

The ubiquitous Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier is a mainstay of the Space Marine Chapters, and has been in continuous use for over ten thousand years. Its true origins are more distant still, and ancient records mention the RH1-N-0 Tracked Exploration and Multi-purpose Defence Vehicle accompanying explorator missions during Mankinds Golden Age. Later, as the armies of the Imperium marched across the galaxy, the Rhino was re-armed and re-purposed for military use, and remains a mainstay of its might to this day.

There are many patterns and designs of this robust vehicle, and the MkIc Deimos Pattern Rhino is amongst one of the oldest variants, first issued en-masse to the Space Marine Legions of the Great Crusade. This pattern is armed with two turret-mounted bolters, slaved to the target-logis systems of the Rhino's machine spirit, rather than the pintle-mounted storm bolter seen on the later MkIIc design that was more readily adopted after the Horus Heresy.

The MkIc Deimos Pattern Rhino, designed by Daren Parrwood, is a complete resin and plastic kit that contains a standard Games Workshop Rhino kit as well as sufficient resin conversion components to construct the MkIc Deimos Pattern variant. This detailed and evocative kit is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 28th November.

Rhino/Predator Reinforced Armour

Our final release to be announced this week is a set of Rhino/Predator Reinforced Armour. This popular kit has been remodelled by Will Hayes, and now features different details and optional turret armour plates so that it can also be used on the plastic Predator kit.

Designed to fit the full range of Rhino-based plastic kits, the Rhino/Predator Reinforced Armour is perfect for both adding detail and variety to a Space Marine force and also for representing the Extra Armour upgrade option.

This kit is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 28th November.

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The newletter also peviewed the Minotaurs Landraider and Rhino doors.

The end of time

2011-10-24T17:49:00.001-04:00

I refuse to post rumors, there is plenty of blogs that do that. However, this is not a rumor.

The Tomb is opening.

Forge World Newsletter 286

2011-10-24T12:46:00.001-04:00

This week we have a four new 40K releases from Forge World for Space Marines, and frankly they give me a big old chubby;

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Land Raider Proteus

The Land Raider is perhaps the most iconic of all Imperial armoured vehicles. Its distinctive silhouette is recognizable to foe and ally alike, announcing the indomitable presence of the Adeptus Astartes, the heroic and super-human Space Marines. Many patterns and designs of this honoured and ancient war machine exist across the myriad worlds of the Imperium, yet few hold the mystery of the ‘Proteus’ patterns; which are valued highly by those Space Marine Chapters who possess them.

Mechanicus tech-savants use the term Land Raider Proteus to refer to a number of different configurations, believed to be the oldest of their kind. These are fitted with numerous sophisticated augury systems and cogitator engines, in addition to the Land Raiders principal features of being a highly durable, environmentally sealed and well-armed battle tank. Ancient and forgotten data-looms describe the Proteus as a vehicle commonly fielded in Exploratory missions during the dawning days of Mankind’s fledgling galactic empire, and perhaps, therefore, the progenitor for more commonplace variants.

Relic Contemptor Dreadnought Body and new Contemptor Weapons

It is not uncommon for those Chapters blessed enough to count the ancient and revered Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought amongst their arsenal to embellish their armoured sarcophagus with scripture, honour scrolls and additional details to commemorate the heroism and indomitable valour of the Ancient enshrined within.
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Also released was the contemptor pattern multi-melta and assault claw. The Proteus really has me excited. I still have the original GW Land Raider and it has always been a favorite.

Everlast - I Get By dmds

2011-10-18T14:38:00.002-04:00

Hey, I love Everlast. Deal with it.

Forge World Newsletter 285

2011-10-11T09:12:00.001-04:00

Morning! In the latest Forge World newslatter have announced two new exciting releases, the mighty Dark Eldar Tantalus and the Imperial Emplacement hollow resin terrain piece. Below is the reproduced message:

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Dark Eldar Tantalus
First crafted, so it is said, for the Archon Surasis Grief of the Kabal of the Dark Mirror, the Tantalus is an assault skimmer, somewhat larger and more complex in design than the Raider, and accordingly better armed. Its distinctive twin-hulled design houses powerful engine-reactors slaved to enhanced drives and its unique scythevane armament.

One of the largest Dark Eldar vehicles yet encountered by the Imperial war machine, the cruel reavers who crew this sleek engine of destruction take delight in mounting high-speed attacks, slicing through the hulls of enemy vehicles and rending infantry into crimson shreds, heralded by the screech of the molecular dissonance fields of its scythevanes and the rapid fire of its pulse-disintegrator armament.

The Dark Eldar Tantalus, designed by Daren Parrwood, is a detailed full resin kit that includes a set of etched brass deck panels. Measuring nearly 11” from prow to stern, this twin-hulled vehicle is a great addition to any Dark Eldar army. With its full rules contained Imperial Armour Apocalypse Second Edition, the Tantalus is available now for immediate release.

Imperial Emplacement
Adding to our new range of hollow resin scenery is the Imperial Emplacement, designed by Blake Spence.

This detailed free-standing terrain piece has been designed as a dug-in position for almost any size of Warhammer 40,000 vehicle, from Chimeras and Leman Russ to Macharius and Malcador-based super heavy tanks. The Imperial Emplacement features a wealth of detail such as ammunition stowage, unexploded munitions, a targeting cogitator and an observer’s position. The base of the Imperial Emplacement has been reinforced with trench plates to act as duckboards, and the scenery piece also features plenty of space for crew models as well as vehicles.

Ideal for use as both a gaming piece to fight battles over or the basis of a detailed diorama, the Imperial Emplacement is available to order now for immediate despatch.

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The tantalus and the emplacement, are pleasently priced only £22 (est. $50 USD). I'm a terrain addict so the enplacement will finds it's way home to Thunderdome.

-C

Where did June go?

2011-07-15T14:15:00.001-04:00

June has been the month packed full of adventure!

My adventure begun with a weekend of drunken rowdiness and my first 5K race, but it wasn’t your ordinary 5k, it was the Warrior Dash. Held in Logan, Ohio the Warrior Dash features an array of challenging obstacles, such as; cargo net climb, mud crawls and fire jumping. Stacked on top of that over half of the course was up hill, and not a gentle slope but steep southern Ohio gut twisting climb that all of the competitors.

My adventure began that Friday night on the way the camp ground. I stopped to get ice and somehow managed to lock my keys in the trunk. Yep, you read that correct, my keys in my locked trunk. Somehow as I closed the trunk, my keys got hooked on the latch, and flipped out of my hand as it shut. Damn, was I screwed. I quizzed the two pimply faced Loganites in the quicke-shoppe on how long it usually took AAA to arrive. The outlook was less than promising. As I stood there trying to get AAA on the phone I realized that my sunroof was open.

I turned to the quickie-shoppe boys and said “Lads, get your cameras! There is about to be a show!”

I walked out, climbed up onto my trunk and into my Jetta through sunroof. Dropping into the driver’s seat, I tried the locks and was sorely disappointed. A feature of Volkswagens anti-theft package is once the valet lock is engaged and the vehicle is locked from the master remote, it can only be unlocked by a master remote or manually by a valet key. It cannot be unlocked from the inside without a master remote in the ignition. So, the power locks and trunk release were disabled until I retrieved the keys from their dark hiding place.

I grabbed the interior handle and opened the driver’s door. The alarm sounded. I stood there, alarm wailing away, and the plan crystallized. I opened the driver’s door; reached back opened the rear door and laid down the back seat to expose the opening into trunk. Looking in, I did not see my keys. This was mostly due the load of supplies for the weekend. I pulled out a good portion the load but could not see the keys. They must be on the other side of the cooler. Taking a deep breath, I climb in through the opening and into the confined space of my trunk.

Arms failing around, I desperately searched for my keys. It was hot and unnerving in there, and I could feel the panic gathering in my gut. Then it hit me; hooker handle!

I reached up and pulled the glow-in-the-dark trunk release and the sun slow pushed back the inky darkness of the trunk. I pulled myself out, turned and saw my keys, laying there, mocking me. I picked them up and struck a triumphant poise and heard Loganite number one shout “Suma-bitch! He did it!” I reloaded the car and grabbed a couple well deserved beers and dinner at Milestone BBQ.

I arrived at the Top of the Cave camp, located our cabin and joined Chris and Terry for an evening of drinking. I would like to say that the evening’s festivities are nothing new for me. That would be a lie. I really don’t drink much, but peer pressure is even a factor for chubby, middle-aged dudes. We had approximately 48 cans of beer and three drinkers until 11PM, when Bill made it down and then there were four of us. I finally hit my limit around 1 AM and went to my bed in the loft. Sometime around 3:30 AM, I woke up panicked and screaming “SNAKE!” I quickly froze, heart pounding and terrified of a snake in my sleeping bag. Slowly I reasoned it was too late, if there was a snake in the sleeping bag, I was already bit. I might as well go quietly in my sleep. The next morning when finally got out of bed, at 7 AM, I counted two cans unopened. I could feel the pain already!

We fixed a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. None of us seemed too terrible for the wear and looking forward to the race. Personally my goals were simple; don’t puke and finish the race. My training regiment was a simple one, walking. That’s it, just walking. We fixed a lunch of hamburgers and chips and assembled our race gear. After policing are cabin and a round of mini golf, we loaded ourselves up and head to Logan.

Arriving at the Logan fairgrounds, we were loaded into school buses and driven to the location of the Warrior Dash. I was not prepared for the course, 3.1 miles +, of uneven terrain, with roughly 2.7 miles uphill. Now, the uphill was not a gentle slope. It was a hillside in the Hocking Hills! These are the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains and the path was little more than a deer trail, add in the walls, the crawls, jumps and swims, I am truly surprised I finished. I had made it to the top of hill three (?); I stumbled upon a young woman crying and scream at her two friends “I hate you! You fuckers made me do this! I hate you!” Wow, my confidence was seriously shaken by that display, but I was determined to finish.

I completed the race in one hour and sixteen minutes. I actually enjoyed the race itself and the night before was a blast! I’ve signed up to run another race in September. I guess we see if I improve.

On June 14, 2011, I began an adventure with Hansen. We drove 2500 miles in just under 37 hours, across ten states and had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the trip and miss my friend Hansen who relocated Seattle, Washington. We started our trip from Westerville and went north. Crossing the Mississippi river after nine hours of driving and continuing west, we spent the night in Minnesota. The second day we visited Wall drug and stopped at Mount Rushmore. I really forgot just how big the monument is. The next day we hit the road and stopped at Little Bighorn and Lake Coeur d'Alene and stop for the final night Washington State. The final day we rolled into Seattle around eleven and spent time in the CH2M Hill office and visited with Sean Troyan. The final leg of my adventure was the flight home and the emotional homecoming for my son’s birthday.

Below you’ll find pictures from both events.

Warrior Dash Hat

Little Big Horn Monument

Mount Rushmore

Five greta Americans.

The map to adventure

If I had a Hammer

2011-05-04T07:54:00.003-04:00

I’ve been reading comics since I was a really little kid. One of my favorites has always been Thor. The first copy I remembering reading had everything a young boy could hope for; swords, sorcery and a Viking ship in space. For me Jack Kirby’s futuristic - Art Deco version of Asgard has always been the streets that my imagination has wondered down. I have followed Marvel’s Thor faithfully, even when it went all glam-rock, right down to the teased hair, leather and chains. When the announcement was made that the franchise was going to the big screen there was a smile on my face that couldn’t be hidden.

I thought back on the few versions that have been submitted to American pop-culture and laughed. We seen Vincent D’Onofrio as Dawson/Thor in ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ and Eric Kramer as Thor in ‘The Incredible Hulk Returns’, there have been numerous others but these always tainted my golden streets of imaginations.

Last night I had an opportunity to see an early screening of ‘Thor’. I went in with two expectations;

1.) To be entertained

2.) Not to be disappointed.

Now, with those criteria established, I can safely say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I really enjoyed the film I was entertained start to finish. Kenneth Branagh and the writers established the back story quickly and without compunction. Asgard was the Kirbesque golden realm that it deserved to be. It’s portray made me a little happy. It was the nod to Jack Kirby that I thought he so richly deserved. They quickly defused any debate about the Asgardians as gods suggest they were an advanced culture mistaken as “gods”. Frankly, I can live with that. They also made an effort depict Asgard as a very cosmopolitan society with many different races populating the realm.

I really enjoyed Chris Hemsworth as Thor. They did a few little camera tricks to make him seem larger than the ‘mortals’ around him. Tom Hiddleeston as Loki was spot-on. There was a menace behind his eyes that just captured the character for me. Sir Anthony Hopkins is Odin, enough said. One thing I overheard someone comment about was Chris Evans as Captain America and his portray as Johnny Storm and "how stupid it was to reuse him." I guess they missed Ray Stevenson as Volstagg. He was the latest actor to play the Punisher and was most bombastic enough to be Volstagg.

There were several tie-ins to the Marvel universe story lines. They establish Dr. Donald Blake and do it in a fashion that works without introduce the whole Thor\Blake entity dynamic. There are several laughs scattered in the movie. The biggest however was an odd one. Agent Coulson is interrogating Thor and inquires where he was trained, “Pakistan?” he asks. The audience laughed hard. I guess recent events changed that whole outlook, huh?

I had a couple of things that did irritate my inner geek (yes, I know there are ointments for that); First, Hogun the Grim was the only character I couldn’t get behind, for me they did not capture the basis of the classic character. He wasn’t ‘grim” enough to suit me. Second, Thor making out with Jane Foster, all the while his wife, Lady Sif, about thirty feet away really made me uncomfortable. Ok, I know they never make the connection between Thor and Sif in the movie, but I knew it. There were a few other things that were off a little but I can live with them. Most of those could be glossed over and the casual viewer would never even miss them.

I really enjoyed the film and I’m sure I’ll do my best to convince Kendra to go see it, so I can see it again. I know little Jack will love it. He’ll be screaming “Look Dad! A frost giant!” Also, Thank you Hansen for passing along the ticket, you made a real geek really happy.

Once upon a time

2011-04-01T07:31:00.000-04:00

Long ago, I wasn't a half bad artist type.
Young Jack found a bunch of my old sketch books, so I decided to share a few selections.
Please excuse the craptastic scans.

Chick

Conan

Griffon

Grim Jack

Patrick Nagel Rip-off

Phoniex

Medieval Dude

Patrick Nagel Rip-off

Dragon

Chaos

2011-03-10T14:02:00.003-05:00

you make me angry

And not the cool kind that sucks your soul out through your big toe.

No, it's the type that flies in for a family catastrophe and just creates drama. February was just a cluster of one misadventure after another. Really I do love my extended family, but I prefer them 4,000 miles away. It was nice to see them and to have time to make a connection with Jeff, but beyond that I can do without the chaos and trips to Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I accomplished nothing blog related. I painted a bunch of terrain and a few models. I will be take photographs this weekend but until then check out the Hobby Glossary.

Oh and I guess the Grey Knights and getting released soon. In case you didn't know.

Airbrushing

2011-03-05T16:40:00.002-05:00

…..At least as I know it.

I have been using an airbrush on and off since 1988 for various task. Back in the day it was making gnarly t-shirts and customizing skateboard decks. Today it is scale models and war-games miniatures. I have fielded a few odd questions here and there from friends who want to get started so I figured I would make a quick article to help with selecting a good starting airbrush.

GW’s spray gun

First, if all you want to do is base coat figs just grab GW’s spray gun and canned air and go nuts. I have one and use it to just that. Nothing else, just base coating, beyond that you'll need to move into a little more advanced airbrush.

You can pick-up a combo set from Harbor Freight that has a dual-action siphon feed airbrush and an airbrush compressor. It is a pretty basic set and for the price, under $100, you really can’t get started for less. You can learn pretty much all you basic technique with this package and keep yourself busy for a long time. The only upgrade I would suggest is replacing the moisture trap/regulator with an aftermarket one. You can do that for around $30.

If you find yourself at the point that you skills out grow the basic airbrush there are hundreds of options, but I am only covering what know. I tried allot of different airbrushes and the two most popular brands around are Iwata and Badger. I am not a big Iwata fan. I have used a couple knock-offs and a few high priced Iwata’s and really didn’t see much difference. The Iwata High-line H2100 I tested felt loose, almost exactly like my inexpensive Master G22. The difference was about $180, the H2100 goes for around $225 and the Master G22 is about $40. You make the call.

Iwata High-line H2100

Master G-22

I also used the Iwata Eclipse HP-BS ECL2500 and hated it. This PoS kept breaking down and need cleaned after every colour change. Iwata now has its own knockoff, the Iwata-NEO. It runs about $60 and isn’t bad, but still is loose feeling and prone to clogging.

Iwata-neo

Iwata Eclipse HP-BS ECL2500

Badger 150

Badger, we need more Badgers! Sorry. I own three Badgers; a 150, a Soltar 2020 and a Renegade Velocity. I love them all. The 150 is a horse! I forgot to clean it on weekend and left it to out. I dropped it in thinner and left it for a couple of days. I came back resembled it and went back to work. It’s a horse!

Soltar 20/20

The Soltar 2020 is a fine, fine airbrush. It is almost too much for me. It is an almost geared more towards illustration than for general use. The amount of control and variation that the Soltar allows you makes it a great investment, but the MSR is $400. And no, I didn’t even come close to paying that.

Renegade Velocity

Finally, the Renegade Velocity, this is my main weapon of choice. I can go from hair-line lines to around a ¾” spray pattern. The Velocity a precision made tool that feels like it. It allows you to do a large variety of techniques and would be a great starter airbrush as well as a great airbrush for someone with advanced skills. Typical it sales for around $165, but can be purchased for less online.

I hope this helps and if you have any question please leave them in the comments.

Ultramarines: A Review

2011-01-18T17:00:00.002-05:00

Well, I had planned on posting this last week but I got held up. It is a little longer than I wanted but sometime crap happens.

Next week, Models! Shock!

Video Blog!!

2011-01-05T19:52:00.000-05:00

Newark has a “Burrito Bus” and guess what, it sucks.

2010-10-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

So, I left the office earlier today and headed home. Typical Thursday is “Taco Truck Thursday” for me but I decided to head home and have left-over’s. All the way out RT. 161 I kept thinking of Taco Nazo, but I had made my choice and was sticking to it. Once I got in to Newark I noticed the there was the Burrito Bus next to the beverage source, so I swung in.

Once I was there I looked over there menu. It looked allot like Chipotle. It was pretty much watered-down American “Mexican” fare. I contemplated ordering the carnitas taco de Americano. It consisted of 2 soft tortillas, carnitas, salsa, lettuce, rice and beans, cheese and sour cream. I asked if they had Crème, cilantro and onions and what type of cheese it was. The reply “No, and it’s a Mexican melody of cheese”.

Something in my head screamed “Walk away dumby!”

I didn’t listen.

I paid my five bucks and head home. I was immediately disappointed . The taco’s sat in a soup of juice from the fresh from the bottle salsa and the pulled pork. Yes, pulled pork, because that was carnitas I got. It was tasteless and unoriginal.

I have nothing nice to say except Chipotle has two locations in Newark and Heath. I have been totally spoiled by the wonderful and authentic taco trucks in Columbus.

Ultramarines the movie

2010-09-29T13:56:00.000-04:00

Ultramarines the movie

Get it or be uncool

A breif game report

2010-06-21T07:41:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to play a game of 40k with John Jordan. We set points at 1850 and choose our forces. I was expecting John to play Blood Angels and man I was surprised by him playing Deamon Hunters. I choose a force from my Necrons. Well, honestly it wasn’t much of a choice. The ‘Crons are down stairs next to the table and their lists are in the case with them.

The game was pretty straight forward; we played the COB’s Threebie. I took some heavy loses to my Destroyers but did my best to return the favor. I wiped out Captain Stern and his terminator bodyguard. One unit of Necrons Warriors really took the brunt of the damage throughout the game, but in the end nine of them still were on the table at the end of game.

At the end of the game I had lost five out of six Destroyers, eight out of forty-five Necron Warriors, three of three Wraiths, one out three Tomb Spyders and my Necron Lord. I held two of three objectives and achieved one of the Objectives of Opportunity to score a forty-one to twenty-one victory over John.

I was an excellent game and I was convinced I was going to lose and was total surprised to achieve the victory. Regards John, great game and you’ve earned the invited back to Thunder Dome.

Holy Sh!t post 23! The shame.

2010-04-27T13:18:00.003-04:00

So, I have been experimenting with my airbrush. Allot. I've really started getting adept with it. Below are a few photos;

The above photo wasn't painted with the Airbrush. I didn't bring the right photo with me. Surprised? Sucker.

More to come later

**UPDATE**

Instead of making a whole new post I've just added this photo;

The picture really doesn’t do the paint justice. There are four different metallic coats, including one of metallic green.

Damn New Mexicains!!

2010-04-11T15:29:00.002-04:00

A few weeks back I had the chance to a game with that damned New Mexican, Jeph Sears. As always it was a great game, I think I tend to surprise most players by show them how Necrons should be played. We had a hard fought battle and I through Jeph a couple curves. The game end as a draw.

Here are a few pictures.

The quest for the perfect paint gun

2010-04-01T12:15:00.003-04:00

GW paint cannon

40k musings: Midget 'Nids

2010-03-29T10:41:00.001-04:00

If the Tyranids ate all the Squats, why aren't there any 'Nids with beards?

Over the hills and through Indiana. Suck!

2009-08-19T13:23:00.002-04:00

The following was written about two weeks ago and just never got posted;

So, it is time for the quarterly update. Ya!
May, June and July can be summed up as a complete waste of hobby time. I only played two games in there months, did minimum painting and drove to Chicago and back in twenty-four hours. Work took up most of the time. One projects deadline was moved up eight months. The design was compressed in roughly five months. It was a nightmare.

At the end of July Dan Corbett and I went to Chicago for Gamesday. I picked him up a little after 3:00am and we made it in the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center about 8:30am. We were lucky enough to get free tickets through my contacts with trade sales. Once we picked them up I looked at Dan and said “Let’s go on in.” He gave me a little confused look, probably because the show didn’t open until 10:00am and replied ”Ok.” We walked up to the door; I said hi to the staffer at the door and told him we were going in to visit. The staffer shrugged his shoulders and said “Sure Chris. I talk to you later.”

Once in I dropped off a model to James Craig at the Golden Demon Lounge. There we talked with Dave Taylor and James for a while. We wondered back out into the throng of unwashed gamers and waited until the doors officially waited and spent time talking to Jervis Johnson and my buddies Mike Majors and Travis Farber prior to the retailer seminar. A vast majority of the coward rushed the Forgeworld booth. Those guys need armed guards. I talked to a friend later in the day that said he was in the FW for 3 hours. I was introduced to Tom Walton from the UK Design Studio and we hit it off. His is nice guy and it is always nice to meet a tread head. I picked up a couple audio books and talked with Black Library author Mike Lee.

We went up to the retailer seminar. Dan and I met the head of trade and direct sales, Chris Woodward. The seminar had some helpful stuff for retailer, but nothing on upcoming releases that I didn’t around know.

We then went back down to show and walked around I spoke with Mike Lee again and got him to sign a few books. During our conversation we discovered that we had a mutual “friend.” We talked for awhile and exchanged information. I then met Nick Kyme and got him to sign Salamander. Dan and I were lucky enough to get in to the Chris Borer sculpting seminar. I learned so much. Chris’ stuff is fucking awesome.

By the time the FW line was manageable there was nothing left. We stuck around until 4:30’ish and then fled. We stopped to just outside of Valparaiso, Indiana at Gaucho’s Steak house. Oh my, it was possible one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. I’m not going to start here, that would only make me hungry!

The drive back was long and I was really tired. I dropped off Dan and was home and in bed around 2:00am. Exactly 24 hours from when I woke up!

Gamer Responsibility

2009-05-08T07:31:00.000-04:00

So, this is a rant………

I’ve been around the hobby for twenty plus years and have seen a lot of stuff, both good and bad. Recently, I played two games, one against the venerable L. Parker Gibson and the other against a new opponent, whom I will not name (can you foreshadow how this is going?).

The game with Parker went exactly how you would expect it to. We BS’ed more than we played mirrored each others tactic and played a friendly game. We have played so many games over the decades (no joke), that there is no ego or attitude. It is just playing to have fun and hang out. We both try to extend a “congenial” hand to all of our opponents.

When I play a new opponent I tend to play with kid gloves on. I want to get a feel of how well they know the game, their tactics and their sportsmanship. There is no point in hammering a new opponent into the ground. If we beat the bean curd out of ever new opponent, we ruin it for them and we’ll kill the hobby.

On the other hand some opponents are best beaten, bloodied and buried…..

I received a private message on a forum I subscribe to from a player located in the greater Columbus area. They asked if I would like to play a game. After a few e-mails, we arranged a game. We played a store that is struggling and appears to be on its last leg. I met up with my opponent and we got started. I explained I need to leave by a certain time we agreed to play as speedily as possible. The dude pulled out Tau and I had brought my Necrons (because they’re always in the case). My opponent looked over and said “Really? I thought you would have played a real army.” He went on to explain how Necron weren’t competive in fifth edition and he was looking for a challenge because he beats all of his opponents so easily. I smiled as I grew wry of his boosting and replied “Well, I’m not your mother and I don’t go down that easy.”

He setup first and I stole the initiative. In the first turn I hammered him, dropping three broadsides, two hammerheads, 4 stealth suits and stunning two devilfish. In his turn of shooting he knocked down two Heavy destroyers and six warriors, all of which got back up. He continued with his propaganda “I get you next turn!” At 7:45pm we were finishing up turn four and I asked if we could wrap it up and he agreed.

I held four of five objectives and had only lost twelve of sixty warriors, three destroyers and one tomb sypder. My opponent had two half strength warriors squads, two battle suit (each with one wound left, one suit was his HQ), eight drones and three crippled pariahs and devilfish. He held no objective. He agreed I was winning, “but, I could beat your cheesy ass Necrons by turn six, if you could stay, man.”

I called Kendra and told her I’d be late.

I told him we’d finish the game and his attitude changed. He started arguing everything I did. He question moves and line of sight. He complained that my HQ needed to make a difficult terrain test the turn before (which it had and passed) and could understand how it was moving through cover. He question how my Wraths had moved straight through a large piece of impossible terrain. I answered all of his question politely and only gave a little attitude. I tabled him first half of turn six. I held all the objectives. He asked if I had a copy of my list he could have. I did and I gave it to him. He bemoaned his dice and complained that he thought I’d miss lead him onto hand-to-hand combat (I charged him wiped out his fire warriors in two rounds of combat, very misleading). He realized he made several mistakes, including be over pointed by one hundred and ninety-five points. After a little feed back we went are separate ways.

That night He sent me six e-mails, complaining about various little things, majority of which we had covered in the game. He then stated I never let him make his additional battle suit moves and that he should had additional dice with his fusion guns. I explained to him that he had never attempted to make the extra moves (tried to keep them behind cover and failed) and I had no vehicles in my list so he wouldn’t have gotten the extra dice. He continued with two more e-mails of question.

Tiring of underlying “you cheated me” tone of his correspondence, I picked up my phone and called him. I told him I was not sure where he was coming from. I explained he represented himself as a fairly competent player and boosted like he was a tactical god. Continuing I stated that I did not appreciated his attitude towards me, my army or my victory and if he was accusing me of cheating he needed to man up and just say it, not send my eight e-mails whining about his losses and bemoaning my “luck.”

Then he cried.

Well, not really, but it was damned close. My opponent confused that Tau were relatively new to him and he had a string of losses (none of which were as devastating as mine). He had played around ten games and had never done better than tie. He explained that his regular group were very completive, were not always forthcoming with advice and sometimes a little shady. He than stated he was considering sell off his 40k and buying Warmachine.
I could not allow that.

We talked for forty-five minutes and I explained to him that ultimately it is ever gamer’s responsibility to ask question and to answer all question about their armies, game play and rules truthfully. I stressed sportsmanship and how that related to a tournament game and pick-up game. I vilified the “button mashing, quick fix video gamer” archetype and sang the praise of the hobbyist. When all was said and done I think I got through to the kid that this hobby is what you make of it and nothing good comes easy.

But every once and a while it is fun to grid someone beneath your boot heel.

Projects

2009-04-20T19:55:00.004-04:00

Last Friday saw the a major road block to my creative juices get twisted and squeezed. Now I can work on projects I enjoy.

Here is what my projects for the next three months;

Finish my Battle Board

Finish sanding and priming my Thunderhawk

Paint enough 'Nids to playing a deceit game.

Progress pictures;

Jack needs to go to bed, so I'll make a proper post later

Update from work...

2009-04-01T09:23:00.001-04:00

but I can't view my post.

I had the opportunity to bust a backstabbing co-worker today and corner them after and have the “come to Jesus” talk with them. So, today is a good day. I did two set of resin cast last night and started working setting up a mold. I have fixed the comments so that any one can post with out a blog/google account. Next post will discuss this years projects.

Update that !

The Kick to the Nutz challenge

2009-03-30T15:47:00.009-04:00

So, when I originally started this blog my goal was to simply paint, model and play. Along the way I became obsessed with painting to win a Golden Daemon. Soon this distracted me form one of my favorite parts of the hobby, painting. I became so focus on technique and application of technique; I just could not paint for fun. The quest for stupid amounts of detailing ruined me. I know I have a good bit of natural ability and a good working knowledge technique. However, I‘ve realized I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore.

Now, I am back and I want to get back into what got me into the GW hobby, painting modeling and playing the game. The first project that I am announcing is the “The Kick to the Nutz challenge.” “The Kick to the Nutz challenge?” what is that, you ask. Well, I have a couple big models that I have really done anything with. So, the challenge is to get them done and if I do not get them done, I get a kick in the nuts.

What? Yes I am serious. One “lucky” follower of my blog will get to kick me in the nuts. Who? will be decided by you in a vote. I have no intention of letting this happen, but it is good motivation.

I really need a few people to bust my chops and keep me updating the blog. Please post up feed back and general comments. Well, that is all for now, but check back on Monday for an update.

Lastly, here are a couple photo's. No models, but something for Sam, hair! I have had a hair cut since before Christmas. Sam should be amazed!

2009-02-17T19:10:00.001-05:00

Well, last year was full of fun and excitment, but very little painting. I have a couple of projects brewing and plan on making a couple posts soon. By June at least.

Snow Day!

2008-03-10T09:23:00.002-04:00

I still made it to work!

I will produce no update before its time....

2008-03-06T13:57:00.011-05:00

Becuase I am lazy!!

I have not completed anything since Decemeber. I finished the 'BAD PENNIES' for Randy (finally) and have promptly not done much of anything. I did dump around 500 bits out and onto the floor 0f my work area. This forced me to go there all my bits and catigorize them. I have a 26lbs. box of 40k single figures! What is wrong with me?

I have just recieved my new Forgeworld Mars patteren Warhound (no. 719). Below is the instructions;

As time allows I'll post up photos of the parts. Hey, leave me comments of what you want to see!

Holy Cripes!

2007-09-24T13:44:00.000-04:00

Two updates in five days

Anyway here are the new Baneblade instruction. I'll be utilizing them to help show progress on this monster of a model.

New Baneblade

2007-09-21T07:28:00.000-04:00

Yep, thats the new baneblade.

Discipline....

2007-08-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

ain't my strong suit.

Well, I guess I should post and update. I mean, it has only been three months! But, those three months were chucked full of news. The two big bits of news that I am most excited about are; the birth of mine and Kendra’s son, and Gamesday Chicago.

On June 16, 2007 (father’s day), Kendra delivered Jack Abnett O’Reilly after fifteen hours of labor. Jack weighed in at seven pounds seven ounces and was twenty inches long. He is named after my late father Jack and my favorite author Dan Abnett.

It was pretty much a no brainier that he’d be named for my dad. My dad really left a much bigger impression on me then he ever knew. He instilled in me a love of reading and desire to achieve a better life through hard work. I appreciate every slap to the back of my head he ever gave me, because I deserved all of them.

Jack’s middle name was strongly contested for months. We finely agreed on Abnett. Kendra thought this was the least odd out of the thousands names I kicked out there. I mean, how could you not like Elizabeth Godzilla! (For a girl, of course) In all seriousness, Dan is one of my favortite authors and the names just works well together.

So, life changed, but way for the better, with less sleep.

I truth Jack is a super baby. His claim and quiet baby. He has had his moments, like the three day hospital stay around August 5th. He was running a fever of 100.3 for more than a day. They poked and prodded him and gave him a spinal tap with no freak garden accidents. The labs from our local hospital and Children’s hospital on Columbus never figured out the issue. That weekend Jack learned to cry and that nearly killed me.

The End of July was Games Workshop’s Chicago Gamesdays and it was most excellent. I worked the 40k Grand Tournament. It was the most well prepared tournament I’ve ever been involved with. The crew running it; Alan, Donavon, Clay, Peter, Paul, Stu, Dave Chris and all the fantasy and support people were top shelf. I personally believe this was the best GT ever. The players were the best bunch of hobbyist you could hope for. Yeah there were a couple hold-ups but nothing to bad. I met allot guys from the Bolter and Chainsword forums; (these are screen names) Kurgan the Lurker, Orkdung, Littlebits, Lunchbox and so many more. I also caught up with a couple guys I’ve in the past, Tim and Angelo. Both of them are great guys. Damon and Larry rode up with me and worked their first Gamesday. These two guys are guys I consider good friends and after that week they earned a lot more respect from me. I could think of two better guys to spend the weekend with.

The high light of the weekend was meeting Dan Abnett. I had posted up on Dan's blog about naming Jack after him and he thought he was getting punked. So, I looked Dan up on Friday night and showed him photos of Jack. He seemed to take it as compliment (which it was meant to be). On Saturday, I got Dan to sign my copy of “Brothers of the Snake”. Later I caught some of his Black Library seminar. After that he came over to the tournament and had me show him around. That was most Excellent! Dan is truly one hell of a guy.

So, onto the modeling bit of this blog, well I really haven’t done much since May (hell, this year). The necrons for Randy are close. I need to finish the weapons and washes and they be done. If I don’t finish them by September 1st, I need my ass kicked.

I finally got my Warhammer. I have photo this week.

I’ve been reading allot. I have found some surprising inspiration for a modeling project in Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead.” Maybe it is the repressed architect who’s been design wastewater treat plants for seven years in me or that I am an Architect designing WWTP’s. Anyway, watch this space for something different and soon.

2007-05-06T19:31:00.000-04:00

So, I've been lazy. I've had a bit of creative block going one. The nasty pennies have not got much attention. I have got a new painting table, but haven't got everything back together.

Anyway, here is something I just did this afternoon. Its not a finished product but its on its way.

The skinny this week

2007-03-27T20:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally will have a full weekend off this week, plus two and a half extra days. No painting has been completed, other than priming. I've done a little modeling, mainly display bases. Nothing to intense.

Here is the interesting bits for this week. On March twenty-sixth, Kendra called me at work. Two years prior to us buying our house the was a termite swarm in the north end of Newark and our house had some minor damage. We purchased the warranty that has the exterminator check the house twice a year. Well, on the twenty-sixth we had one of the inspections. The inspector said He wanted to take a closer look and we needed to move everything away from the perimeter of the basement walls. So, I moved everything that night and I have a lot of hobby stuff down stairs. When Kendra got home she was like "Oh, He only need to get in here and here." Yes that's right I only need to move my painting table an two boxes, not the entire basement.

This led to Kendra and I to talk about a new Painting table for me. While I have all my stuff pulled a out, Red and I are going to build a new table. Hopefully I'll have new photos this week end and some painting done. Yeah right.

So, I missed a month

2007-03-11T19:13:00.000-04:00

Febuary SUCKED! I only had one free weekend. That weekend I won a 'best painted army' at the CSP RTT. Its my second 'bpa' award, so I'm proud. I did get acouple games in and they all were great. Work has been balls to the wall all month, but it was for a job with a four week dead line. Good over time, but no time to paint.

Randy's necron are about eighty percent finished. I planed in work on them this week but there was an issuse. I somehow got a piece of fiberglass in my eye-lid (probally from a hockey stick). So, my eye was swollen up Thursday and on Friday. On Saturday I went to the urgent care ('cuase I wouldn't listen to Kendra and go to the doctor on Friday). The medecine for my eye makes it a little blur and rough to do detail. Next weekend is all about getting the 'Bad Pennies' out on the streets. Someone asked about my hobby area in the Great hall, so I took some photos.

This is the 'frankenstein' table. Right now it clean except for my light-box. If you couldn't tell, I'm a Van Halen fan.

This is my work area. It has a space issuse and I'm current planing out a new table. Hopefully, it will be done by the end of April.

The over flow space. Looky! Randy's 'Bad Pennies'

Here is my vent hood. Best piece of equipment I ever bought.

Negative progress

2007-01-25T07:05:00.000-05:00

Last week saw my neice Jennifer get married. It was a very nice wedding and her husband is a pretty deciet guy. I still think he'll end up being an abused husband. Poor bastard.

I did get a little painting done, but took no pictures. I need to get Randy's necron clipped off the spure and glued together.

Update, Shupdate

2007-01-16T10:18:00.000-05:00

Well, this past weekend was jam-packed full of business, but barely any painting. Friday, I sat in with an Anime class for Russell Merritt; http://banshuwaart.bravehost.com/index.html . I’ve known Russ for years and was really glad He allowed me to hang out. Thanks Russ! Saturday, I meet up with my 40k league team mates and swung past the CSP for a while. I did get the rest of the Necron Warriors primed and fifteen or so based coated. That night I went to the Blue Jackets by myself (long story). Sunday saw me work on some of my stuff and I played a game against Nick. At the end of turn three I thought Nick was looking at win, but I pulled a victory out of my butt.

Any way, very little painting was accomplished and nothing worthy of taking photos. Maybe this weekend will prove more productive.

31 days until the new Dark Angel Codex!!

The Resolution post.

2007-01-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

I decide for a new year’s resolution I would be setting a list of paint and modeling project to get finished. As part of that I thought starting a blog to post up progress of the current project. Anyway here is the project list;

Finish Randy’s Necrons
Death Guard marines
Finish Empire Army
New Dark Angels
Space Wolves
Finish Imperial Guard
Finish Witch Hunters

Each Tuesday I’ll be posting up that weeks update and photos. This will help keep me ‘honest’ on current progress. Keep an eye open for the updates and comments are welcome.

Entry #2; Arghh!

2006-12-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

Its Wednesday night, I've offically started vaction and should be home painting. But, no. I'm in the office working and hateing the northeast ohio regional sewer district.

First posting

2006-12-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm just messing around right now to get the hang of this. Hopefully I'll get going full bore soon.