MamaGeek

Here are better photos of the last set. I used this tutorial for achieving a perfect black background in miniature photography, which I recenlty discovered. Closeup of the eyes:

OK, here are a couple more. I'm about 8 hours into painting now... I really should stop at some point and get decent shots with my DSLR, but I'm just too lazy.

This is what I've managed to get done recently, working on the red some more, and the white, then starting on the black. You can see along the bottom where I started to highlight the black border. The rest is just basecoated.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been "off the grid," caring for aging parents. Hopefully, I'll get painting (and posting) again soon.

Jab sent me an awesome troll a couple years ago, and I thought it was time to return the favor.

Cool, thanks for the explanations and conversion photos!

This is so crazy brilliant!

Beautitful work, and for a worthy cause. DWB needs the funds now. They are very busy fighting the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Do you have any photos of the original sculpt before your conversions? It looks great, but I can't tell from the finished model what you modified. I love your reds! I'm paining red now myself, and it's frustrating as all get-out. I've done it before, but it's been a while, and I forgot how hard it is. Did the asymetrical layout give you balance problems? Did you have to weigh down the side of the base opposite the figure so he wouldn't tip over? Is the blue patterning freehand or sculpted? (Either way, it looks fantastic!)

Here's some more red, and a start on the white tunic. These photos aren't the best, but I didn't want to do my whole setup for a quick WIP shot.

I got third of working on the base, so I switched to painting. I did just a thin layer of brush-on primer, so as not to obscure detail (wrinkles). Here's how I mixed my shades of red, and here's Elizabeth's sleeve so far: I ended up adding some blood red to the mix one from the left, because it was too brown, but the rest I used shown here.

They are definitely the best for tabletop gaming. It's so nice to just toss them all in a bag and not have to put them into a special carrying case and worry about them getting scratched. Go Bones!

Well, here's to being human! Sometimes life just knocks you down. And here's hoping that the day we can't get back up again is a long way hence!

Beautiful job! The eyes are brilliant, and the hair is lovely. I like the shading on the pants, too. What is she standing on?

Happy, Happy, Birthday, Andy!!!! I'll dedicate a decade of my rosary to you today, my friend! God Bless!

I got a migraine last night, so I laid in bed or on the couch from the moment I got home from work. I managed to read a little, but that's it. Hopefully I'll make some progress tonight! (I am enjoying my book, at least!)

I've painted a bunch of Bones and a bunch of Reaper metal, and I haven't noticed any loss of detail in the Bones miniatures.

Thanks, Donfear, I like both of those ideas! I had the chicken running that direction, because I figured, "why would a chicken run towards a house, instead of further out into the yard?" But, duh, it's a stupid chicken. Who cares? How do y'all like my plant? Does it work? It's a whole new idea of mine. I've never made anything like it before. Is anyone interested in a plant-making tutorial?

I wish I could view those! Darn photobucket! Well, I've painted a couple that I thought were halfway decent: Eyebeast Damien, Hellborne Wizard I don't think I rank up there with DKS, but they're not terrible... I will definitely have to check back here later from home, so I can see the ones y'all mentioned above. Good paintjobs are always inspirational!

If you have access to a 3D printer, you can download hex terrain patterns for free and print them yourself:

It's actually not very overlooked by us Catholics, but yeah, I don't see it getting much emphasis in Christian culture at large.

Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback! I thought about adding some pottery. I'll have to try sculpting some and see how they turn out. If they're good, it might make a nice addition. And if they're stinky, I'll leave them out! I don't want the yard to look messy, so a stray broom on the ground wouldn't work. I can move the chicken, though, if that spot doesn't look right. Maybe running from Elizabeth to Mary? Anyway, I took my dremel to the edges of the wall to sand them straight. Then I cut away some of the bricks so their individuality is more apparent, and also to avoid the implication that the edge was the actual end of the wall, not just the edge of the scene. My husband thinks it looks bombed out now, so maybe I went too far? For the dirt, I used a mix of watered-down craft glue, flour, and sand. I put sand in the planter, and primed and base coated the foliage. I thought they turned out well enough, so I made a couple large ones that can hang over the wall. I'll paint them and see how they look before gluing them on. Then I stained the base, which looks horrible. I must have gotten putty and/or glue on the wood in a few places, because the stain went on really blotchy. It's also just really soft cheap wood. I'll paint over it later.

What do you suggest for a backstop?

I've started a thread in the WIP forum for this, if anyone is interested.

This is looking really great so far! I can't wait to see it come together!

For Christmas last year, my Mom hired the very talented Andy Pieper (a good friend of mine) to sculpt me a set of miniatures for a Visitation Scene from Luke, Chapter 1 of the Bible. Andy's Sculpting WIP thread is here. In this scene, Mary, just having conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit, visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant in her old age. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth says, "“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy." And then Mary sings her Magnificat: "My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His handmaid; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.†This diorama is meant to represent that moment, as Mary twirls and sings for joy in the yard of her cousin's home. These are the completed figures that Andy sculpted. They are 54mm scale: Andy was also kind enough to add a bonus figure, a chicken, which is running away as Mary twirls in the yard: Andy's Sculpting WIP thread is here. I started by purchasing a wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby, sanding the bevels, and installing rare earth magnets in the base, so it will stick to the inside of my wooden miniature carrying case. I knew I wanted the wall of Elizabeth's home on the edge of the diorama, so I glued together a frame out of coffee stirrers and toothpicks. I let that dry overnight, then used Milliput to build the basic shape around the frame, which I also left to dry overnight. When I got out the miniatures to place them in the scene, I realized my wall was angled the wrong way, so I ripped it off the base and respositioned it. Then I added another layer of Milliput over the shaped wall for sculpting the stones. I also used some Milliput for a tiled floor, which peters out into the farm yard. I'm going to put down something for dirt, but I'm letting the putty dry first. I created some palm-like leaves out of twist ties and parchment paper (I will probably do an article on the technique sometime, if there's interest), and pushed them into a piece of cork, which I wrapped with green stuff for a planter. I plan to fill in the top with sand. Here are two photos of what's done so far, with the miniatures in their places, though of course not glued down (and Elizabeth won't be flying in the air like that!). I'm thinking of making some larger palms hanging over the edge of the wall, though I'm not sure how I'd attach them, and I kind of want to see how the little ones look once they're painted. If they're not convincing, I won't bother with larger ones. The wall is pretty well stuck on now, with the floor and everything, but the rest could be repositioned, if necessary, so any feedback on placement is appreciated. I also have a little Milliput left that I could slap on somewhere to touch up the sculpt if necessary. (I used up almost an entire pack!) I'd like to keep some for future projects, but I want this one to be top-notch, so I'm willing to part with it. Really, any feedback at all is welcome and appreciated. Thank you! And, once again, Andy's Sculpting WIP thread is here.