vutpakdi

I'm glad that they are being open about the status of the other projects. I'm still going to wait for retail and reviews. So, I'll check again in 1 1/2 to 2 years, if not more. Ron

I definitely agree about the spares, especially with airbrushes. Odds of damage when it comes to needles and nozzles is just high enough that I like having a spare for both. Ron

Certainly not based on the Rocinante. Still very tempting. I'll get a 3D printer someday, right? Ron

I periodically will prune and purge paints and minis. It's tough at times, but accepting that I'll never really paint something can leave room to get something new that I probably won't paint. Ron

Humble Bundle has a collection of fantasy STL files: scatter terrain, furnishings, and some minis as a bundle. I'm trying to resist since I don't need more temptation to get a printer. Ron

We've been happy with our Shark as our Dyson (one's upstairs and one is downstairs). The Shark was about half the price of the Dyson. We also have a Roomba to help control the hair from our Golden Retriever. The Roomba has worked wonders except that over the last few months, it has been attacking the problem at the source and has tried to eat the dog's tail a few times.

It's live with some early birds for the next 24 hours or so. I'm very tempted, even to get the STL files before I have a printer. Ron

I whole heartedly agree with Gadgetman!'s suggestion to use a mask even with a box that has good fan and filter. I set up a large box with filter and box fan, and I still wonder if some of my sinus issues were a result of spray priming without a mask. Of course, N95 rated masks are a little hard to find right now. :-|

I have a couple of essential oil cases from Amazon. About $35 for 104 dropper bottle case, soft sided with foam organizer. Mine is from Soothing Wellness Essentials, but there are many which are essentially the same thing. Ron

I'm bummed since I was looking forward to working the Reaper booth, chatting with Pingo and other painting friends, and taking a couple of classes. But, it's the right thing to do, especially since we're very much in the early part of the COVID-19 spread in the US. Based on China's experience, I expect that we'll be living disrupted lives for at least 2-3 months. There was a noticeable drop in the number of people on our corporate campus from Wednesday to Thursday. My team started working from home on Friday. I expect that we'll all be told to work from home within a week or two. When that notice goes out, the effect will be pretty devastating on the hundreds of facilities and catering staff who support us. Ron

Happy birthday to one of my ReaperCon breakfast buddies! Ron

I’ve flown from Houston to Norway with paints in winter without any problems. The luggage compartment should be pressurized and heated as long as nothing goes wrong. Be careful if you are going from a lower elevation to a higher one. And even if you aren’t, make sure that the caps are on tightly, Ron

I just noticed that it is currently cheaper to order the ScaleColor paints directly from the Spanish site than it is to go through a US source, even with shipping. Ron

The project is now funded.

The author posted a few PDF previews in the updates. Here is one.

Traveling Encounters volume 1 Compelling 5th Edition Challenges For CR1 to CR5 This small project is to fund a collection of little encounters that can be dropped into an existing adventure for low level adventurers. I backed his previous project for alternate character backgrounds, and he delivered the PDFs early.

I stopped using Windsor and Newton Series 7 brushes because I seemed to frequently get brushes that had a split tip under moderate load after the first brush. I’ve never had that problem with Da Vinci Maestro Series 10 brushes. Ron

My classes include handouts, and students usually appreciate them. Ron

I’ve also ordered brushes from Dick Blick. When I was teaching my toolkit class at GenCon, part of the class fee included a Da Vinci Maestro Series 10 or Raphael 8404, so I would order 12 to 15 brushes a year. I had the occasional brush without a brush protector that would get deformed in shipping, but they always replaced the brush quickly, Ron

vutpakdi = Ron Vutpakdi

I’ve had Liquitex gloss varnish seem to cause tackiness with Bones minis. Golden gloss varnish does not seem to have this problem. I use Lascaux matte varnish because it’s the best brush on matte varnish (applied with an airbrush) that I’ve found. Apply the matte varnish in thin layers or it can go satiny. Ron

I’ve had Bones varnished with Liquitex gloss varnish followed by Lascaux matte varnish sticky. A couple of applications of Golden gloss varnish (followed by the Lascaux matte) helps. I prime Bones with Stynylrez primer if I prime. Ron

I've got my two Beginner classes again: Step by Step Beginner Miniature Painting (Thursday, 10 AM) Type: Painting Level: Beginner Format: Hands-on Synopsis: So, you’ve found the perfect mini for your PC, and you want to paint it. What are the basic steps of miniature painting so that you can turn out a good tabletop quality mini? In this step by step beginner miniature painting class- students will paint the same miniature at the same time using basic beginner techniques including drybrushing and using washes. A Beginning Painter's Toolkit (Friday, 10 AM) Type: Painting Level: Beginner Format: Hands-on Synopsis: So you found a mini that you want to paint? What do you need besides a brush and paint? What would be helpful? We'll talk about tools for beginning painters including files, primer, brushes, palettes, paint, and varnish. Hands on portions of the class include brush on priming, putting on a base coat, and then making washes with matte medium.

Prices for events vary wildly (free to $75+ for classes). I took 3 1 1/2 hr classes at $39, $25, and $25 each. The standard Swag bag was crazy large this year with highlights including: Song of Fire & Ice base game, Level 7 Invasion, a Guild Ball starter box, a GW Nightvault faction box (and dice and sleeves), and a special Victoria Miniatures mini. My 4 night stay at the Embassy Suites about 1/2 mile away was $685. Ron

If you like tacos, you should make a trip out to Torchy’s Tacos, a mile or so away. Torchy’s is a regional chain out of Austin well known for inventive tacos and killer queso. I took my Maryland friends there last year and they liked it so much that we went back the next day. Ron