25/28mm Things From the Basement - Livestock Buildings

Great set from Thing From the Basement! My trials and tribulations are detailed below,

I screwed up the priming twice! For the fencing, I mixed up some dark brown paint and Gesso and brush-primed them before spraying with a light brown primer.  It looked good at first but I found it repelled portions of the washes I put on. It was irregular enough that I leaned into it and I tried to drybush grays and tans over to age it up a bit. Some lengths are better than others - the gate among the worst.

 

For the buildings themselves, I managed to put a thick gritty dust over everything with the priming. I brushed the worst of it off to middling effect. This is most seen on the outhouse, but also on the pig sty to a lesser extent. Hen house came out fine.

I'm happy with the basing on everything but I used UV activated resin in the horse trough and it seemed smooth and fine until I hit it with the light. At that point a bunch of bubbles appeared on the right side. By then the top was rock hard! I may very well have made it too deep and should have set it in two layers for more control. I can live with it I guess; on the table it will get little notice.

I'm also happy with the state of the pig sty - at least at pig pens I have seen they are totally littered with straw which I successfully modeled here. I own 25mm pigs; none are painted.

That grit is gritty!

Here's some 25mm Wars of Ozz figures so you can get a sense of the size. I will likely use these livestock buildings for Napoleonics, both Russia and Spain, and probably New England too.

All and all, there is a learning curve in prepping laser cut stuff. The pig sty base did warp a bit and I flipped it over and white glued the bottom to put a counter pull on it. On a cloth mat it sits level but there it's still not flat. The glue for the static grass and tufts on the fencing, I think, will not affect them but they are not 100% cured yet. For now, I'm skittish about trying to build bigger laser cut buildings.

In any event, thanks for looking. Questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

25/28mm North Star - Frostgrave - Candle-Jacks

I find I still have a fair amount of Pumpkin headed villains to do for the Sleepy Hollow game.  The Wars of Ozz pumpkins and scarecrows are the rank and file while this Large Candle Jack will be a monster boss to join Reaper's Rotpatch who's been already completed.  I'm adding in the lesser  Frostgrave Candle-Jacks as well to serves as something in between the expendables and the real monstrous challenge posed by this scythe waving monstrosity.

The base was a little flat and lifeless so I added a pair of pumpkins to help set the scene.

As with Rotpatch, I added a mix of my Green Stuff World leaf punch output, first gen Highland Tufts from Army Painter, some static grass and a single tuft of 12mm Spikey Beige from Gamer's Grass to give some height to the floor proceedings.

It's hard to beat the official North Star display models but I gave it a shot via slap chop, some dry-brushing and then more layered work for the heads, weapons and vines. The detail in the eyes are pretty janky and if I was a more determined modeler I probably could have reshaped them and dug out the irregular "pupils." But I'm not, so I didn't.

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

I'd Buy That #8: Count Orlok in Daytime Attire

I'd love to see a good Count Orlok (Nosferatu 1922) figure in cloak, feathered cap, on foot with a whip in 28mm. They are making it in action figure size but not a version for the table top gamer. 

 As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

28mm Reaper Rotpatch, Pumpkin Golem

Another monster from the Pumpkin King's corrupted retinue! I started with a slap-chop then ended up using speed paints/contrast mostly as a base coat for the pumpkins and vines. At the end I went over it all with more opaque highlights.I spent more time rusting up the scythe - it's really rusty!This is one where I know I could do more, but I just had enough and wanted to move on. 

The base was plain and spare so I painted up a pair of  pumpkins to adorn it, adding a mix of my Green Stuff World leaf punch output, first gen Highland Tufts from Army Painter, some static grass and a single tuft of 12mm Spikey Beige from Gamer's Grass to give some height to the floor proceedings.

Watching YouTube painters have given me some ideas and I think I'm ready to step up off my plateau on new miniatures. I have much already underway so the change will be likely gradual. 

More supernatural pumpkin monsters coming in the next day or two! Stay tuned!

Thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

NOVA Open 2024 - Saturday, August 31

 

I had a couple hours to race through NOVA Open this year at the Washington Hilton in DC. Compared to the historical side of things this place really radiates youth and energy. Tabletop gaming is very much alive and thriving; perhaps many of these kids will dabble in historicals as they mature?

Though it's Games Workshop/Citadel dominant, the rest is also mostly sci-fi with a chunk of fantasy taking up space everywhere - games I couldn't name even at gunpoint. I'm more of a sympathizer than a fan of most of this stuff, but it's still tabletop miniatures at the end of the day.

Apart from looking at terrain and tables - most of which were crowded with tournament players, the bigger draw for me is the world class painting competition they call the Capital Palette. And like the last couple years I have been attending thee were some phenomenal models on display. Some I recognized from years prior. Nonetheless, here are the ones that caught my eye this year: 

One of my faves - the Object Source Lighting (OSL) was a particularly nice focus on many entries this year which I take particular delight in - a really splendid piece here.

Love the whimsical narrative in this one! Brilliantly realized!

Oooh - something from history!

I'm sorry, were you saying something?

Those gem stones!

Tasty free hand background - who doesn't love a moonlit cemetery?

A Reaper mini I have still in the blister - Inspiring take!

I love the contrast in styles and how they both work wonderfully in their own way.

Another favorite!

Lamp and lava - I liked these so much I took two pics!

The moonlight here really puts this one above - fantastic!

I had less time and space to capture beautiful tables, and I think I even missed a room or two in my haste. HMGS Conventions have the Flames of War tables I admire so much; NOVA Open has Lord of the Rings and Star Wars tables. Some gems in here - most seen before:

The main ballroom is difficult to shoot in as it is crowded with competitors and players are very much into their games. Still, there were some interesting things along the periphery and in the "dealer hall" - here called the Exhibitor Hall.

Boy, does this sum up the state of Liberty in the world today! What a conversation piece!

The iconic mascot of the whole event

Pry off the Orc symbol from above the door and you have a lovely building suitable for Old West, Colonial or even Ancients in Africa or the Middle East.

Necron city - fun!

Well, all in all, it appeared to be a fun convention for those who participated. As for the vending, I didn't find much - picked up a few new brushes from Artis Opus and an effect paint from the Green Stuff World guy. The "bits" folks were not here this year - that alone is often worth the price of admission; if you know, you know. 

I do recommend people attend this - it is a marvel and I enjoyed basking in the youthful energy. The people-watching (including just a handful of cosplayers) has some appeal too though I didn't have much time to take it in.

Thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858