Lord_Ironheart

Hehehe, pluckin' da wings off'n' der faeries, eh? Sounds good to me!

OK, it's official; I suck compared to Jester.

HOLY CRAP! *turns bug gut green with envy* Where did you get that?!?!?! Is this a conversion, or was this a marketed kit? Let me know, please? "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" *Joker, from Batman*

I LLLIIIIIIIIIKE IT!!!!!!!! *Totally Addams-lookin too...*

Erm, uh, how do I post a link?

Hey all, I posted this before, but that was a while ago, so here it is again. I wrote this on Memorial Day 1998 after placing the flag on my dad's grave. Memorail Day The flag means not so much as the nation it represents. Freedom. And, ultimately, the flag means not so much as those who would die to defend it. Peace at last. In memory of TSgt. Bruce Whitmore, USAF (21 April 1943 - 20 March 1985)

MWAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, not only am I back, not only did I finally figure out my digital camera (well, at least the closeup function, and lets face it, for minis, that's all that counts!), but I can post pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOODY HOO!!!!!!!!!! Lemme know whatcha think... Umm, OK....the files are too big. Go to CMON and search the gallery for all works by Drachenherz.

Hi folks, Yes, I'm BAAAAAAAAAAA-ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anywho, I've been playing with the various clear coats on the market, and found a good mix. After you finish a mini, first hit it with Krylon #1311 Clear Matte. This gives a durable, semi-satin finish, and is good enough for general play pieces. For the more detail oriented, try this: Give any parts/areas which warrant it a coat of Reaper Gloss (polished metal/leather, glossy paintjobs, jewels, etc...). Then, go over and hit the parts/areas which warrant it a coat of Testors Dullcote. They finally came out with a bottled, brush-on version of their Dullcote spray! I've revamped several pieces in my personal collection with this method, and they rock! The effect works so wonderfully, you have to try it to understand. *Apologies to those of you who have already found this or a similar technique. I just had to talk about it* I'll try to get some good pix to share ASAP. Til then, auf wiedersehen!

I have to say NO to the superglue. When the superglue dries, it tends to leave a frosted white effect on any paint that came in contact with the fumes. Try some Elmer's or other white glue. What I do for landscaping is as follows: 1: Fill the base (if using a seperate base) with sand or railroad gravel (Woodland Scenics makes a wide variety). If not using a seperate base, just paint the "ground" whichever shade of brown, green, or whatever, that appeals to your vision. 2: In a craft syringe (one with a long, tapered tip) mix a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water; add 1 drop of dishsoap to eliminate surface tension. 3: CAREFULLY soak the gravel/sand with the glue mix. Apply a little of the glue to the base of the miniature. 4: Mix different shades of static grass together to get the desired effects, then dip the base if the mini into the mixture; be careful to not get it all over the feet of the figure(s). 5: With a DRY paintbrush, carefully remove any grass which has stuck to the miniature. 6: Add any other detailing, such as long grass, by sticking it down into the wet, glued sand. 7: Let dry, and clear coat. As an alternative, some folks may wish to use some type of putty in their bases; I find Squadron model putty to be extremely easy to use, easy to sculpt and contour, and readily available from hobby stores. For rocks, you can use either gravel or, for larger, more realistic looking rocks, use plain grey clay cat litter (clean, of course!).

I use, in mostly equal amounts, a mix of Reaper, Ral Partha, and Ceram-Coat. I have a few Armory paints, but those are dying fast, as are my few Polly-S paints. And a side note for those who like comparison shopping: Reaper comes out hands down over GW paints. GW "Bolter shell" paint pots hold a whopping .43 oz. of paint, while Reaper paint pots hold .75 oz. of paint. This comes down to a per-ounce cost of $5.25 for GW (before tax) and a cost of $3.32 per-ounce for Reaper. When you consider this, plus the overall higher quality of Reaper paints, they win over GW any day of the week.

Here is another idea: why not split the cost with other mini enthusiasts in your area or gaming group? This way, everyone gets a good deal on a decent supply of stuff. Myself, I buy multiple colors and shades so I can mix them and get a more realistic tone. If all else fails, leave me a message with your mailing info and I'll go buy some and sell you what you need, and ship it to you at cost (rather than the inflated S&H most companies want).

OK, well, Ironwind can't make them due to the WotC tactic of ripping up the contract to make licensed items. However, if someone is interested, I happen to have the blisterpack Tasselhoff that I'd be happy to sell (got it for a client, who then cancelled teh order). It's started, but can be stripped in a matter of minutes. Just drop me a message here on the message board. I also have a bunch of RP minis doen by Jim Johnson up for grabs (if no one asks for them as-is, I'll finish them and send 'em off on eBay), and I have the anniversary evil hero (mounted and on foot), which was just a Tom Meier sculpting of Frank Frazetta's "Death Dealer" (originally marketed in 1976). This piece is still in the blister from when I bought it back in the early '90's. So, drop me a message if anyone wants stuff before it goes on the block. I have some Battletech mechs and vehicles too, so just ask.

I used some extender to make my own flesh shade ink. The Reaper Flesh shade was a bit too dark (OK for darker skinned folks, but too dark for us palefaces). I used Chestnut Brown at a ratio of 1/4 oz. paint to 1/2 oz. extender, and it turned out fabulous. I then did the same thing with some Ceramcoat purple, and made a purple ink that is of a cooler shade than the Reaper purple ink (cooler in that it doesn't have the reddish cast to it, not in the metaphysical sense of coolness). I've used both on a few figures so far, and they rock, especially when combined, which allows you to make it look like someone is wearing 2 different types of cloth (say, tabard and cloak), and that each has had differing amounts of wear on them. It takes some practice, but, as I tell my students, there is always room for improvement, because no one is perfect, and there will always be someone better whom you can learn from.

Just my 2 coppers worth, but I noticed that the Dwarf King, a fairly small figure, priced at $5.99 at the local store. Maybe a mistake, but maybe not. If so, someone needs to put some of the stores in check for price gouging. I mean, it IS an exceptional piece, but $5.99 in no way reflects the metal content.

I mis-spoke; the 130+ was for the full attack action, 3 hits. My bad! :p *He is a serious BMF tho! HEHEHE! *