bushido

The base wasn't hard, just time-consuming. It's just one of those wood plaques you can buy at a craft store. Normally, I'd just glue some foam-core (styrofoam sadwiched between poster-board) to make the texture and give me something out of which I could cut the holes for the minis, but I knew this wouldn't work since I wanted a paved road look. So, what I did was glue the foam-core to the wood base, and then glued plasticard to the top of that (after I cut out the holes I would need). To make it look like brick, I just cut and gouged grooves into the plastic on the display base as well as the bases of the minis. After I was finished, I realized that it would be much easier to just buy the rolls of fake brick and glue it where I need it. You probably buy this stuff where they sell model trains or those miniature Christmas villages (I should know, my mom collects them...).

That reminds me of something on the LotR DVD's, when the cast are talking about being on set at Edoras. Miranda Otto and Bernard Hill (Eowyn and Theoden) say something along the lines of how hard it is not to get swept up in the role when you can stand in front of the Golden Hall and actually look out at the mountains all around you and feel the wind in your hair. Perhaps Lucas just tried to put in so much eye candy that he forgot that his actors need something to respond to as well. I liked the movie well enough. The scenes between Anakin and Padme didn't seem to stop the flow of the film as much as those between Mary Jane and Peter Parker in the Spiderman films...so I guess that's something to be thankful for. Besides, getting to see Yoda tear it up one last time before retiring to the swamp was well worth the price of admission. Oh, there was another thing: There seemed to be a rather large difference in the choreography between when the Emperor was fighting Windu and Yoda. How convenient that he had a hood on so that an actual stunt man could be doing the moves rather than an old guy who swings a blade worse than I do...

The blacklining is a little heavy in places, but other than that, this is an excellent piece. The color choice is especially nice.

Actually, I haven't mounted it yet... I'm going to be moving to a new apartment soon, and I'd rather not drill unnecessary holes in my walls...

I keep meaning to...but sci-fi keeps sucking me back in... Maybe next time.

Mengu, I did have another entry that placed (this mini, to be exact) but it pales in comparison to Vincent's dreadnought. Cade: For the standard, I first sketched the outline of the image with a mechanical pencil. Then I blocked in the brightest areas of color. Then I applied the darkest colors, being careful to preserve as much detail as possible. Doing it this way helped me to keep track of the structure of the form I was painting. After the darks and lights were in, I then "blended" the two using alternating colors that were either darker than the lightest or lighter than the darkest. In addition I used washes/glazes in order to adjust the overall tone before I applied the next layer. Normally, I paint freehand the same way I paint the rest of the mini, but in this case I felt painting it "backwards" might serve to distinguish it from the rest of the squad... I hope that makes a little sense...

I fell in love with these models as soon as pictures were released so I couldn't resist picking up a box at Gamesday Atlanta. A month later, they're finished, and I couldn't have asked for a better result: Squad and base Standard Bearer Sergeant Assault Cannon Baldy Generic As always, comments and criticism are welcome.

Pretty much. Take one grim reaper on steroids, add a few mechanical scarabs, and you have one Nightbringer...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard somewhere that it's only really sold in certain climates. I live in Florida, for instance, and can't find it anywhere.

Hey, those look really nice. Just make sure you clean up the rims of their bases with some black paint (or whatever color would look best). That will go along way to giving them a more finished look.

You can paint static grass, but it isn't the easiest thing to do (at least for me). I usually have to drybrush it several times to get the color I want and avoid clumping. If you use superglue to secure the grass, you shouldn't have problems with it falling off, but try to use the brush in such away that the grass stays erect. It would be best if you could find a dark brown grass and then brush on the highlights wherever the light is hitting it. You might look into stores that sell model trains, they generally have a good selection of grass (in various colors), but I don't know if they sell anything really dark.

Is that some sort of Dark Elf dance? Sorry...I had to say it... I think the skin tone is a touch too blue and tends to blend with a few parts...though it might just be the picture. Nice job, though. I look forward to seeing it painted.

This is from Confrontation, right? I quite like this guy...especially the way you handled his back. Just a little critique: the pouches seem to blend too well with his armor. His eyes look really mean...I guess lugging all that stuff around would worsen anyone's disposition...

Hasn't Wizards recently changed "drow" skin color? They used to be dark skinned with white hair...I think they're pale now...which means they'd just be evil elves...not that impressive, if you ask me. Anyway, this is another nice mini. The only things that need work is the hair (a pain in the butt to do right) and the base (a trend for you, it seems ). Oh, the gold NMM, though executed well, seems a bit too flesh-toned...if you know what I mean.

The part I like the most is the handle of the long sword (is it a nodachi?)...it looks quite real. I think the blade of the shorter weapon needs something more to distinguish it from the skin tone (which is quite nice as well).