Mourningcloud
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Posts posted by Mourningcloud
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Oh, you want a hexblade class idea...
I have two friends who play hexblades in Living Greyhawk games, and i fyou know anything about that community, it is a challenging field to play in; characters have to be well built and survivable; A Con of less tha 14 is extremely rare, and I have only ever met one character with a 10 (ironically enough, it is one of the hexblades I know) and playing to your strengths is a must. A hexblades strengths are his curse ability and his base attack bonus. That being said, any items and feats which can make the save DC better for his curse will give the greatest benefit. What world are you playing in? if you are playing in Greyhawk, there is a feat from a dragon magazine called Pureblood Suloise. Make your hexblade Suloise and take this feat; it gives a +1 on intimidate, a +1 on all saves vs magic (also a +2 on all charisma checks vs. scarlet brotherhood). As a hexblade you are going to be the party's de facto magical trap springer when the rogue is unable to disarm (or if there is no rogue)-your high will save as well as you arcane resistance and mettle special abilities relegate you to this role. The +1 will help with the saves on magic traps, and the +1 to intimidate is very important for your main schtick: your curse. If you are playing forgotten realms, look for another feat which boosts your intimidate; if you are playing Eberron, umm, hexblade is far too uncheesy a class for this ultra cheese world (just kidding! ....okay- 90 % kidding) Make sure you max out your intimidate skill every level, and get that cloak of charisma as soon as you are able.
The hexblade I have adventured with often plays with a cleric of Wee Jas, and the two of them have worked out their tactics to be able to debuff a big bad guy down to almost -20 to attack and skill checks. it doesn't slways work, but it is devastating without being "broken" (that is, so powerful and cheesy that it renders the game stupidly easy; thus "breaking" the game)
Tactic:
Round one-the hexblade Intimidates the big bad guy (at first level, figure on +2 from Cha, +1 or +2 from a feat, and four ranks in intimidate for a total mos of +7 or +8 on the roll. If he fails, he is shaken for the next round, and his attacks and checks are at -2. The cleric then casts doom on the poor baddie, who now gets a -2 on his save (the clerics save dc to his spell will likely be higher than your save dc on your curse. if he fails, the helpless opponent is now at -4 the next round. So next round, as a free action (right before you charge and whallop him-you are a full bab fighter-type likely with a two handed weapon) you curse him. His save will be at -4 (if you have no cleric aiding and abetting you, hopefully he will at least be at -2 on his save from the intimidate), and if he fails that save too, he will be at -6 for the reast of the round, and at -4 on everything he does until he is dead. (if it is just you debuffing, it will only be -2, but that is good too. its like raising everybodies armor class by 2) and if he has doom on him, he will be at -2 to damage (like giving everyboby damage resistance 2 to him). At third level, the cleric casts wave of grief the round after you curse, and adds an extra -3 for a total of -7 to attack and -2 to damage. Nasty, eh?
Wow that was long. Anyhow, that is a way to make your curse much more effective, Even if you leave hexblade for dragon disciple later.
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The plastic one by wizards is not half bad, actually. Any fighter in light armor or a breastplate would do, however. The best place to start might be to figure out what weapon he uses, and do a search on the figure finder on this very website. You will likely find something appropriate; at least, that part of it will resemble your character.
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or even better, take hexblade, get to fouth level where you start casting, and get into dragon disciple PrC with a full bab (base attack bonus) and d 10 hit points.
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Since you guys are talking D&D books, both old (dragonlance, old Salvatore) and new (well, new salvatore-also Cunningham) I have to bring up the Greyhawk books, bith old and new.
Literature? ....No.
A rollicking good read? Yes, definitely.
The old: Gygax (and only the Gygax-ignore anything by rose estes-life is too short) gave the feel of what D& D was about-fast paced, good engaging characters, just enough humor and drama to keep it real (and fun!), Really Bad bad guys, Good (and Not-So-Good) good guys, and action packed plot twists at every turn. To quote Mark Twain, "anyone looking for plot will be shot."
The new: the Justicar novels by Paul Kidd. As good as anything by Salvatore, as funny as D&D has any right to be, and great takes on old classic modules. Great stuff; I kid you not. Three books: White Plume Mountain, Vault of the Drow, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Find em used and cheap as they're out of print.
Also Bram Stoker Award winner Nancy Collins; the Sonya Blue series. This is the dark gothic vampire thing before White Wolf ever thought of the world of darkness, and better. Everything Anne Rice tried to do, but better.
Oh, and big second on the Gaunts Ghosts series, or anything by abnett. The man is a writing demon (the good kind! )
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<stares stunned speechless>
PLease stop making me burn my brushes.
One question-where did you get the blade for that sword you converted onto her? it makes me verrry happy.
Oh and as far as popping, when the colors are as smooth and sublime as these are, there is no such thing as "too much."
as always, you are the master.
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What I Like: the fact that you finally got us some kobolds.
What I Dont like: the actual kobolds have the exact same faces as many of the reven orcs, just on a smaller scale (well they are both sculpted by Ben Seins). Not sure I like the bull orc style of face, with its oddly angled and placed ears and flat snout, on a kobold. I'm glad you listened to all of us and made some kobolds, but I was really hoping for something a little more like Jason weibes Kobold-y good looks.
What I Really like: the fact that you went for kobold classes-fighter and wizard-rather than make another generic pack o' kobolds.
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Also it could be that your crazy glue is too old. Most people dot realize that that stuff only really has a life of about a couple of months after you puncture the tube and it gets exposed to air.
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For anyone whose home game has ended, I would suggest giving Living Greyhawk a try. I have started playing recently, and have gotten completely hooked. I too came from first edition, and was skeptical if third, but I figured if I wanted to play my favorite game again I had to give it a shot, and it is the best thing to ever happen to roleplaying.
Not because the gam eis that good (although it is pretty darn good-obviously bette rthan my typing), but it has revitalized the roleplaying industry as a whole. There are more people gaming now per capita then even when first edition was in its heyday.
The game itself has more rules than older editions, but that is becaused they revamped all the old rules and made all that stuff that didn't make sense, well, make sense. so they can add more because the core rules are so much less complicated and more streamlined. ( we wont even talk about that joke that was second edition, where like every new suplement contradicted the one that came before, and there were no rules for like say, combining a kit with a players option character. In fact 2.0 was just written to get Gygax's name out of the books and reinvent D&D as if it had nothing to do with him at all, pushed through TSR by the woman (she came on board TSR after Gygax lost his controlling shares) who from all reports-and Ive read more than a few- just had this huge grudge against him, and subsequently ran TSR into the ground. And some of the crap they put out! Red Steel with audio cds for npc encounters? I bought the boxed set a few years ago for 2 dollars at kaybee toys discount outlet, where there were like 30 boxes stacked up, just to see what the heck was inside. And yep, there was a cd! Wow, thats roleplaying! I want whatever They were smoking...)
I heard all the horror stories about how Living Greyhawk is just a bunch of rules lawyers arguing about how much powergame cheese the dm will allow them to get away with (and its never quite enough for the munchkin powergamer/players tha run rampant through the RPGA, who sponsors Living Greyhawk)
The reality is completely the opposite. I have met a lot of really cool, neat,and fun people to play with. And not one has been in need of a bar of soap during a game. I've had some really great games, and in 20 mods (which run about four hours) only played in one that had moments that were somewhat unpleasant (mostly because of one player who was whiney, unimaginative, and to add insult to injury really didn't play his character very well.)
True, you dont know who you are going to play with in a given game, but that is half the fun. You get to know the people in your area when you have played a few times, and you will know whhich ones you like to play with. And when you go to conventions, or even just at local game days, you can meet and play with new players who just might be more fun than a barrel of Gorillons (who have four arms each, so thats a fun barrel indeed!)
And you can again see the joy of watching your character grow, and being part of creating new legends in a shared world campaign that is as old as D&D itself. And if you travel out of state, pack your books and your cahracter(s) and try to find a game in wherever you are visiting. play a different region's mods. the beauty is that everywhere you go there are players playing the same game you are, with all characters created and games judged under the same guidelines. Try doing that with a home game!.
Not that it will replace your home game-if you got one, enjoy it; theres nothing better than gettingtogether with old friends-in both the real world and in an imaginary one, and seeking adventure and spilling pizza and beer all over somebody's tablecloth.
But give Living Greyhawk a try too. Yes it is a horse of a different color, but its a damn good horse nontheless.
Gary
P.S. Sorry if this sounded like spam; I am in no way (not even my own mind) a representative of WOTC or the RPGA; like I said, I started playing Living Greyhawk not too long ago (San Diego Comic Con) and just wanted to get the word out to all you who are lacking in a certain kind of companionship; that being the kind where you get your dice out and go kill monsters together.
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I too have noticed many recent minis with defects.
I recently bought the newest Female Antipalidin , and after getting it home noticed the hrooendous misalignment. Okay, the misalignment isnt really that bad, but it destroys the detail of the hair, as it runs diagonal through the head, and hits like every hair. I am more skilled thn most in the department of filing and filling, and not too bad a slouch in terms of sculpting small parts, but there is no way to fix that hair (it is not onl y misalogned, the back half is raised noticably so that it gives an odd stepped look to her head. I am so angry with myself at being so overjoyed to see it on the shelf (drove to my flgs the day it was delivered) that i didn' t check the alignment while still in the store.
Now it sits face down, replaced into the package, and I am too disgusted to look at it-such a beautiful sculpt totally boogered. Yet I am reluctant to contact Bryan and the crew because all things being equal, the miscast really isnt that bad. and I opened it, so I cant return it. And I cant afford to just buy a new one (new baby, fiancee not working). And I feel a little guilty because I already had one mini replaced (laast year) that was badly miscast-I feel like I will be abusing the system if I ask for another replacement.
Maybe I could ship it to reaper on my dime and they would send me a replacement-worse comes to worse they could melt and recast it (at least they wouldn't lose out on the tin). better to be out the 1.50 shipping then pay 4 bucks to get a new one, and have this one sittin on the shelf.
So she lays facedown on my shelf, her scarred visage forever hidden from the light of day.
On a lighter note, I noticed later that the other in the FLGS was even worse, and at a different FLGS the only on there was also miscast, but not as bad as mine.
I have yet to see a cast of this mini that wasn't noticeably shifted.
If there is one out there, I'd like to know
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Hey Darkstar, if you want to get rid if that lovely-yellow-fog-that-ruins-your-careful-blending effect, ditch the dullcoat. I know it is "industry standard", but as was pointed out to me at my flgs, it is formulated for model race cars. and even as far as testors products go, it is on the cheaper end quality wise. There is Testors model masters formula, which i have no experience with but I am told has none of the yellowing effect you get with crappy dullcoat (which achieves the "dull" in dullcoat by yellowing everything, incidentally).
However, MY humble opinion is that if you can get your hands on floquil figure flat, you will throw out your cans of dullcoat and wonder where this stuff has been hiding all these years. Floquil is still in business (though I believe owned by testors) and I have heard the formula hasn't changed. None of the experienced painters in my area will touch dullcoat with a Gygax-ian ten foot pole (if you get that joke you are old school D&D like me)
Its figure flat or nuthin. now go forth and paint, my little smurflings (posting on waaay too little sleep again).
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I use the Zona blades quite frequently, and I can attest that they cut quite well. As far as using them to remove a fig form the requisite briccoli; well that im not so sure about. but you are welcome to try!
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What I want to know is when can we expect to see that new knock elf from the 9-21 greens. You know, the one with the spear and longknife in his hands. I want to use him for my new elf paladin character in Living Greyhawk, and I am playing that character at a convention in San Diego in November, so I am hoping he's out by then.
PLEEEEEAAAASSSSSSE!
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I dont think the new elf and dwarf greens are plain or flat at all, I think they are intended as low level characters, without all the frills and whistles of the more "developed" adventurer minis we see. I will do some weapon swappping for the elf, but he will be perfect for an elf paladin character ive been itching to play. I'll have to do a weapon swap, but I think in the end it will look positively kick-butt. Of course, especially with low level starter types, this would have been the perfect opportunity to try out that interchangeable weapon/hand weve been talking about-I mean like "Werec Lorn, Generic elf with sword, spear, bow, and shield" or some such, and "Ernerk, Dwarf Flunkie with axes, hammer, sword, and great shield" . But alas, it looks as if such is not to be.
I'll get off my soapbox now. I'm starting to annoy even myself.
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Hey star, maybe you would consider doing the wood elf king mini in a fall color scheme. i have been wanting to try this ever since the mini came out, and i saw John Bonnots version of it in the painted minis section of the website. he painted it in a very elven scheme, with a browns and greens. but the gold trim and reddish brown cloth really got my painting wheels turning, and i wanted to see it done in a fall colors.
so what do you say-wanna give it a try?
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for years used coins, large erasers, anything household that would work (many a disposable lighter was slain as a giant, and most of our dragons said "Marlboro" on them). Often i would make specific baddies out of tin-foil (you should see my silver dragon and giant scorpion), and many bottle caps (Mickey's Big Mouth for the size large ) were also drafted for the war effort.
but that was then.
now I have over 20 years of minis, both old and new, most painted (although i try to shy away from using the old lead) and upwards of 60 or 70 of the Wizards plastics-crappy detail and paint jobs (however the monsters are pretty darn good !!) but better than coins, cigarette packs, and bottle caps.
In fact last weekend at a living greyhawk game in San Diego i saw the "dice glued to plastic bases" monsters for the first time ever. i quickly pre-empted that nonsense when i took out my double sided plano mini tackle box full of D&D plastics and handed it to the DM. After 20+ years gaming and collecting, fighting "gray 12 sided showing a 3" just doesn't work for me anymore. Blame it on my lack of imagination.
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I paint them just to paint. I used to use them for games, but players were too rough for my tastes and I went to plastic figs for gaming. I will start to sell them on Ebay and the like this winter as a way to support the hobby. New baby and a wife not working has depleted all of my extra cash.
Dude! is it me or are most gamers hamfisted lunks with no coordination or sense of respect for artistry let alone other peoples property? (barring of course the wargamers with their painted armies-at least GW has proven to be good for something!)
ive seen guys at cons grab up an entire party of D&D adventurers with one hand and break like three of em (all were very well based, some were converted, and all with 50$ average ebay paint jobs. Oi Vey!)
btw, I D&D mine.
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Elf Barbarian with a big axe.
Elf axe with a Big Barbarian, anyone?
sorry, its really really late here;
to me that was hilarious.
I'm really tired. Gnight.
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Yep.
And as of d&d 3.0 "Adon" saw a huge rise (as if they had only recently come into existence) in the numbers of Half orc monks and rangers, and halfling rangers and wizards, which never had existed in "Adon" before. And double weapons-those started popping up all over "Adon" right about the time D&D 3.0 came out, as well as the elf paladin phenomena, heretofore inseen on the lands of "Adon".
However as far as i know there had always been elfin thieves in "Adon", and i think a good representation of one is due out just about now (by good i mean klocke or bobby or even van horne or von shaik please) Blackguards are also a relative newcomer to "Adon", and im sure they were welcomed with open arms (all 16!) by the newly discovered cavern crawlers (which look just like behirs!).
Now if "Adon" would also get some dwarf mages, maybe an evil dwarf and a dwarven paladin to balance him out, and a gnome or two who has fallen from the light, i would be extremely pleased with the world of "Adon".
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just go to hobby people-they have these cool plastic medieval minis just sitting in a bin-fairly cheap (i know you are on a tight budget) although around 120 mm. im sure they have some vikings.
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Even though D&D does such things, the Dark Haven and Warlord minis are from their own game world, not D&Ds.
oh contrare-dark heaven USED tp be from its own game, and it does claim a certain worldcentricness, but the game Dark Heaven Legends is no longer in production, or even supported. thats why you get stuff like Borrowing Horrors (also a really cool Burrowing Horror with big dynamic claws) , wannabe githyankis, and the new Astral Mauler-all right out if the monster manual. also the sudden (as of 3.0) appearance of double swords and spiked chains.
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Outside of the Exalted figures, Reaper's fantasy stuff is very stereotypical traditional fantasy. Look another elf with a bow. The fantasy figure finder cannot find a single elven monk despite the fact that in D&D it's a legal combo that I tend to play ... but no figure for me.
Secondly, the little people. I find that a lot of people do gnomes that end up looking like happy dwarves ... short with beards and a bit overweight. Despite elves and humans being similar height you can often tell one from the other by build or attire. And culturally is how the little people should be determined. So you should be able to see a small figure and based on build and attire you know it's a dwarf/gnome/halfling. Also, since I don't play in Middle Earth and I playing halflings NOT hobbits I'd like some sensible footware for them. Only in a fantasy game would big hairy feet be considered cool.
Iain.
PS: If DHL sells to D&D players then look at what you are missing from the PHB or settings that would fill gaps and appeal to those buyers.
I must wholeheartedly agree. With the advent of 3 rd adition, there are so many more class combos available. Even without the less likely combinations (like halfling blackguards and gnome necromancers, although both of those combos would be tre' cool), and in support of the poor guy on that other thread, could we please see some elven thieves? JUST ONE ELF THIEF, PLEASE!!
And while were at it, maybe as stated, some evil looking dwarves and possibly gnomes (anyone else have fond memories of first edition, playing a gnome illusionist/assassin or an evil dwarf cleric assassin? No? jeez you bunch of Nancys, what kind of 1st edition games did you guys play?)
Not to make comparisons, but what made the old companies good *cough* Ral Partha *cough* was their willingness to get creative, and even silly at times. i dont mean silly like a pointless kiler clown mini (what knucklehead won the contest and made that waste-of-pewter-and-casting-equipment, anyway), i mean silly like a dwarf with a 12 gauge crossbow, cloak that looks suspiciously like a poncho, and cigar in his mouth, who happens to look exactly like Clint Eastwood. (does anyone else remember the "dwarf with no name"?)
do something different next time you get the hankering to do another "Garrity; Ranger with a Stock Longsword" or elf archer. that dwarf mage (use Trav's concept art!) you go out on a limb with just might be the most popular mini in your next monthly release.
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currently (like this very minute-im currently at work-which is to say of you live in the state of California, your tax dollars are paying me to write this)
I work for State Compensation Insurance Fund as a Program Technician, which is a big phrase for low level grunt who does everything from make copies and change the water in the cooler to taking applications for insurance, making sure they are valid, and inputting them (low level data entry) and covering for the receptionist when she calls in sick (which is like every other day, but now that i have answered phones for a state agency, i understand why)
this is definitely NOT my dream job.
Incidentally, for all you walmart, barnes & noble, fast food wage slaves out there, consider this: its true what they say about office jobs-most of the women and many of the men i work with have gained an estimated 10 pounds/ year since they have worked here (I'm not being sexist, its just that the women are often moms so when they are not working they are usually at home being moms, where the dads are often soccor or baseball/softball coaches in their "downtime" and tend to keep in shape a little bit more, but as i said many of the men have gained their share of poundage too). In the beginning i couldnt understand why, but now that i sit in a cubicle all day, i find myself reaching for snacks at all hours, just for something to do while i am doing nothing (AKA working...). I have also started to gain a little weight, and this is from a guy who normally runs anywhere from 4-7 % body fat and has stayed physically active throughout his entire adult life; I danced Jazz, ballet and other styles all through college (I have my 8 year degree-my bachelors
) and also Kickboxed (Muay Thai, not that american pseudo-karate junk); and I still kickbox and lift weights several times a week. Ive been at a desk for 4 months now and i am already going stir crazy, as well as gaining love handles. Before this I was waiter at BJ's Brewpub and Rainforest Cafe (thats an active job!), and have also been a bookslave (both B Daltons and waldenbooks), been the grill man at the student union cafe in college, and worked in a gorcery store bakery. I can tell you that id rather have one of those active jobs any day over this 9-5 on my butt crap. But when yo have kids, you take the first job that has benefits, so here i sit on my ever-expanding keister....Without a doubt the best job I have ever had was for the US forest service. I was Hotshot-a handcrew firefighter for the Del Rosa Hotshots here in San Bernardino. It was the most difficult thing i have ever done physically (it was frigging grueling), the guys i worked with were for the most part immature uneducated lunkheads with the average mentality of a 9th grader-the kind of guys who still think that referring to someone as homosexual is an insult-don't they know that it is "in" to be gay? (actually no they dont-they would never watch any shows like queer eye for the straight gay, or even the channel that would show such nonsense; they would likely even consider the history channel for "sissies") yet despite this it was without a doubt the best thing i have ever done. There is little more rewarding then saving someones house, which in my short time there we did several times over (i fought the notorious Grand Prix and Old fires here-many of you out of state likely heard of these-they were pretty big news two summers ago.)
I have also been: a waiter for the box seats at a concert venue (I saw every concert from 1993-2001-The Eagles twice, Metallica twice, Ozz fest 3 years, the Ramones, Don Henley, Depeche Mode, Megadeth, Skid Row, Def Leppard, just about any country act you can think of several times over from Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood, Kenney Chesney & Brooks and Dunn to Hank Williams Jr and Charlie Daniels, Warped Tour twice, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, Lolapalooza 2 years in a row, the Cranberries, the Gin Blossoms, etc etc etc.;that was definitely a dream job, but at some point around my 27th birthday i had to grow up
); a manual drafter for a mapping company, an educator for the local county museum, and a projectionist in the two most ghetto movie theatres this side if Los Angeles county. My "dream job" is as varied as my real job history. i hope to someday try my hand at acting and modeling but i just turned 31 so time is growning short-if you check the "what do you look like" thread you will see me headshot posted. Someone here had a wife who was a director? i also want to be either a park ranger or a US forest service Law Enforcement Officer-cop pay, badges and guns, you dont have to settle domestic disputes or do traffic enforcement and you get to muck about in the wilderness all day, every day;sometimes even on horseback. Ahh, joy. Oh yeah, id also like to be a crime scene investigator (i am currently taking classes toward this end)-not because of the show, but because i really want to solve crimes and bust bad guys. I also want to be an FBI agent or possibly work for national security, the federal air marshalls, or intelligence. I was considering doing some military time as an officer toward the law enforcement goal after college, but now the prospect of getting sent to Iraq and away from my two young sons (ones 3 1/2 years, ones 2 weeks), possibly forever
keeps me out of the recruiting office. my main dream would be to have invested in the local real estate market when property values skyrocketed here in Southern California the last three years, and made enough to retire with a house on the beach and a few hundred thousand in the bank, and started on my modeling and acting career, and studied dance and martial arts and archeology all over the world with my kids; and what really kills me is if i had played my cards a little better, this could have been a possibility. but oh well, we live and learn, right?
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i gotta tell you maybe one of the reasons you dont like this one is that the bow is unfinished. not your paint jod, but the cast itself. look at the mini again on the models page; the end of the bow thats supposed to be there is missing; it looks like it did not cast, leaving that kinda rounded blob-ish end. maybe consider this a practice run, for the real one you paint when you get one with one with an intact bow.
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heh not bad for your first one, and i must say i also like the fact that Humansquish has a quote from me in his signature; not so much that he quoted me (which in and of itself is quite cool) but the fact that he read one of my very loooong posts, and picked that quote out from somewhere in the middle.
Wow. i dont know that even I have enough dedication to read the entirety of some of my longer posts closely enough to pick out a quote. sheesh.
Kristianna painted by Derek Schubert
in Show Off: Painting
Posted
I too will (descretely) examine a woman's lovely Fleur de lis, but I certainly won't comment about it in a public forum.
-mourningcloud,
who is wondering where our societies sense of propriety has gone.