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Weav

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  1. Weav

    This is the end...

    By Weav,

    ALWAYS.
    BE.
    PAINTING.
    After a little less than two months, I have completed @Ziggens' Impact Miniatures Gnome team. And while the pics are sub-par, I have included the final pieces for all to see. After the last entry, there were still Str Players to show, and I performed a small touch up on a few players with goggles. 
    First, the Stars; below, we have the Gnome Contraption that serves as Grim Ironjaw. Identified by his orange beard and the extend-o-glove attack arm, Ironjaw shows his star status with the gold shield protecting the Gnome driver:

    Barik Farblast has the cannon arm on the right, ready to launch balls down field. The left arm holds the next ball to be shot, and the star on his waist denotes his player status:

    Next, Flint Churnblade with his bloodied left attack arm:

    Boomer Eziasson follows with his 'bomb', or in this case, his pack of dynamite:

    While not part of the Time Bandits yet, Ziggens can plug in a Deathroller as soon as his treasury allows:

    The Gnome Contraptions family photo:

    The basic Gnome Contraptions:

    The TIME BANDITS:

  2. Weav

    Time Bandits

    By Weav,

    ALWAYS.
    BE.
    PAINTING.
    Turning the corner on any painting project is a great feeling. If you're anything like me, you never really feel accomplished until you start to see the end of the project in the distance. Well, I had that moment this week with @Ziggens' Gnomes. After finishing a few sample models, a Blitzer and Longbeard, I focused my attention on completing the contraptions first. This included the remaining Blitzer and two Troll Slayers. I'm not including the Star Players that Ziggens gave me; those will be covered in a future blog post.
    This entry is labeled 'Time Bandits' as that is the name of Ziggens' team in the current Ordo Blood Bowl League Super League. Time Bandits are a Dwarf team, and as a result, most of my references to the Gnomes are in Dwarf terms. In this post I will cover painting the Blitzers, Troll Slayers, Runners, Longbeards and the head coach.
    First, we have the completed Blitzers:

    The Blitzers are identified by the red color located on the base mushroom, the color added to each side of the number, as well as the gloss red boiler in the center of the torso. The overall scheme for all the contraptions, including the Star Players and the Troll Slayers, was to spray paint with the satin olive green paint; next, the model was washed liberally with Citadel Nuln Oil wash. Next, the model was washed with a mix I made of Vallejo Model Color Turquoise, Nuln Oil, water and Citadel Lahmian Medium. Don't ask me to give you recipe, it's always different and really mixed by sight. The turquoise wash is difficult to see in the Blitzers pic above. The Blitzers were then stipled with Citadel Ironbreaker, and Citadel Typhus Corrosion was added to the crevices to create dirt and wear.  A small amount of Citadel Dry Ryza Rust was added in places to give another textural element. 
    With the extensive use of the green across the majority of the model, I wanted to break the monotony with the area beneath the Gnome's controllers. That is why I painted the area red, with a blended effect to imply glass, or any other substance that would look like a gem. However, the actual gloss is really there, I covered the area with clear nail polish to make the areas pop. This was done post sealant. The Gnome 'driver' was painted the same as the other gnome, except blue was used for his tunic. This was done to again to break up the green monotony. 
    Below, you will see a pot of my precious turquoise wash, and a little detail from the legs of a Star Player:

    While the satin paint has it's disadvantages, the unintentional crackling effect is a welcome addition to weathered look. The picture above shows more of the blue tone, which helps to give the contraption's paint depth. I've become a big fan recently of using micro washed to create texture on flat surfaces. The turquoise wash is an example, and I'll post a few additional examples in the Art of War forum soon. 
    The Troll Slayers were completed at the same time as the Blitzers. I followed the same recipe for the armor, the only significant exceptions being the different beard color and a color change to denote the different position. First, here are the Troll Slayers:

    Much like the Blitzers, I have used a color, in this case blue, to denote the position. In this case, blue was used as blue is the unofficial color of special basic (not Star) players. Blue was used in several places; there is a blue indicator on both sides of the number, the blue and orange mushroom on the base, and the blue shield protecting the Gnome driver. Lastly, while not blue, what real Troll Slayer doesn't have an orange beard? I've painted the Troll Slayer beards orange to match this familiar look.
    The Troll Slayer models include a large stone hammer to smash opponents, representing the player's frenzy. After sealant application, I added Citadel Blood For The Blood God to the hammers, as these Gnomes would clearly be causing major damage to Ziggens' opponents. 
    When Ziggens and I were discussing his team originally, and how they would look, we didn't really discuss the Runners. In the lot of Gnomes provided, two models stood out as the Runners. These little guys are holding, or rather, cherishing the ball they are holding. Short (get it?) of the ball and the white indicators on the base, nothing else denotes these guys as Runners. The Runners were painted at the same time as the Longbeards with the same recipe. As a reminder, that recipe was simply the satin Olive spray, P3 Midland Flesh, Vallejo Game Color Scarlett Red, Citadel Ironbreaker, Citadel Administratum Grey, and P3 Greatcoat Grey. The ball was painted with P3 Bootstrap Leather, P3 Hammerfall Khaki, and a quick highlight of Vallejo Game Color Elven Flesh. Like the rest, the model has a liberal wash of Nuln Oil, before a single highlight of the base coat. Runners:

    The Longbeards are next, and like the Runners, they followed the basic recipe for the non-contraptions. Ziggens has one ST4 Dwarf Longbeard, so I made sure to number the meanest looking Gnome to match that player. He's more heavily armored and ready to destroy opponents tall and short.

    The eyes were a small challenge; I'm not terrific with eyes to begin with, but the smaller stature of the models made picking out the eyes a little difficult. I have tried a new technique for a while, and I do prefer it; I used to paint the eye black, then add a white to the middle, then a black dot in the middle. This was not very easy, as I often had the white covering a portion of the black border. What I do now is simply paint the eye area black, then add a white dot on the right and left side of the black. Much easier!
    The head coach looks like a tinkerer, fixing and innovating the contraption's abilities. This model was very simple, following the same recipe as the Longbeards. The one difference being the addition of the khaki work belt.
     
    The last picture for this post is the Time Bandits team. This picture represents the players that were active on Ziggens' roster as of 4/3/2018:

    The next blog post will feature the Star Players and the Deathroller! That will be the final post in the blog.
  3. Weav

    Ace of base (coats)

    By Weav,

    Always.
    Be.
    Painting.
    A lot has been going on at and around the Weaver house and Ordo over the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean there hasn't bee progress on the Gnomes. I am knee-deep, or if I was a Gnome, barely ankle deep, in base coating the little buggers. As you may recall from the last blog post, I am using a satin finish spray paint to base the models prior to picking out the armor, leather, beards, skin and caps. Here is a reminder of the spray's sating finish (BOOOOO), but I'm sticking with using it.

    Picking out the details on the Gnomes themselves isn't too difficult, even with the smaller size. The base Gnomes are having their leather painted with P3 Greatcoat Grey, Their armor with Citadel Base Leadbelcher, the tunics are being touched up with Citadel Color Goblin Green, flesh is P3 Midland Flesh, and their caps are Vallejo Game Color Scarlett Red, highlighted up to Vallejo Model Color Flat Red.

    Below are the stages of completion; on the left you will see a fully painted and based Gnome, or rather, Dwarf Longbeard for @Ziggensteam. Next to the right is a based model after a liberal wash with Citadel Shade Nuln Oil. The final model on the right is a base coated model, after being sprayed with the satin paint, followed by the skin, leather, beard and cap being picked out.

    It took just a 'little' bit of time (pun fully intended) to get the models based and ready for wash. This blog post doesn't include the work being done on the contraptions, but that post will come next. In the picture below you can see the Runners (holding footballs) and two of the more heavily armored Gnomes on each side.

    Lastly, here is a size and quality comparison; obviously the left is the Impact Miniatures Gnome and the right is a new Willy's tentacle chaos star player, who I am beginning working on for The Golden Tentacle Blood Bowl tournament in Everett, Washington on 5/5/2018. 

    Post four will include the contraptions! 
  4. Weav

    PRIME TIME

    By Weav,

    ALWAYS.
    BE.
    PAINTING.
    With the gnomes fully assembled, it was time to get some color on them....and for me, white is a color . I opted to white prime, using an old can of P3 I've had around for awhile. I normally like to use watered-down Gesso, but that method would be too laborious for this project. Many painters like black primer as it is great for blackening and speeding up the process, but I've always preferred the brightness white primer provides. Once the priming is complete, my idea is to spray the base olive color on all the models and then follow my normal painting process after.

    Above is my very high tech priming rig; for those of you looking to emulate my perfect method, collect a box, box cutter, and saw horses. I think the next step is pretty logical, so I'll save you the explanation. As you will see in the pics below, the primer has given me the blank canvas for the olive paint.
    First up, here is one of the two Blitzers; I plan on placing a red mushroom on the player base to denote the contraption as a positional player. The Troll Slayers will have a similar methodology, with a colored mushroom making their position clear. 

    The formally red Deathroller is now white and ready for color.

    The rest of the Gnome models. The Gnome with the ball on the right is one of the two Runners. The Gnome on the left with the wrench is the head coach.

    This contraption is a Troll Slayer.

    Next, I tested out some olive spray I purchased at Walmart. Now, I understand the difference between matte, gloss and satin...but I'm also lazy. So even though satin was the only olive color available, I still purchased it. The result? GLOSSY MODELS! Shocked? Me either...but as the consummate professional I am, I decided to go ahead and see how the satin paint affects the actual painting process. I also covered the right Gnome in Vallejo matte medium to hopefully provide some tooth and reduce the satin finish, as you see below, it's still satiny.

    Next up, some paint on the test models...stay tuned 
  5. Weav

    And so it begins...

    By Weav,

    ALWAYS.
    BE.
    PAINTING.
    This has been my motto for awhile now, having a desire to put brush on model as often as possible. And while I have plenty of Blood Bowl projects to occupy my time, I have found myself painting teams for friends of mine recently. I painted up @savion47's humans for the OBBL Human League, and I finished and unified a partially painted Necromantic team for @Patriarch of Sigmar's trip to Orclahoma Bowl. Based on my work on the Necro team, @Ziggens asked me if I could help him with a team, and I said yes. Boy, did I not realize what I was getting in to .
    I was presented with the Impact Miniatures gnomes, a team that can be played as a few different Blood Bowl teams. They can easily represent Halflings or Gnomes (an unofficial Stunty League variant), or in Ziggens' case, Dwarfs. Ziggens brought over a box full of little bits, and nicely wrote his intentions for the team on each baggy.

    After receiving the models, assembly began, and wow...I learned a lot about this team. To start, and no disrespect to the team at Impact, these models are...not sculpted as nicely as others on the market. I think that is my diplomatic way of saying I won't likely be purchasing these models for my own team in the future . The Gnomes are small, and relatively detailed considering their size.

    As expected, the models were supplied with bases, very much in the Games Workshop slottabase style. However, with a lack of a tab on the Gnomes, and my desire to use Citadel Texture as the primary basing material, I decided to use tape to cover the slot. After a quick Exacto knife slice, the bases were ready to receive the texture.

    The basing choice is a combination of Citadel Armageddon Dust, fine slate and a ballast mix I use for all my basing. 


    For some of you, it may seem unusual to base this early in the process. I used to struggle with finishing a model and then having little to no motivation to base. Now, I counter by basing early. Also, in those cases where I am feeling uninspired to paint, I can always base coat, wash, drybrush and work on the base. This has helped me get past painter's block. 
    Ziggens wants a traditional garden gnome look, so these Gnomes will very much be in a rich garden landscape, complete with a bark dust feel, and of course, moss and lawn. Also supplied are some plastic mushrooms, but these will be added towards the end of the process. I plan on using a dark brown as base layer, then picking out the stones and slate in grey before wash and drybrushing. As a fan of static grass, I plan on using that for the lawn, though I'm playing with the idea of using it sparingly as weeds or ornamental grasses. after all, a garden gnome isn't often placed in the middle of the actual lawn.
    The Gnomes will represent both the Dwarf Longbeards and Dwarf Runners. The Blitzers and Troll Slayers are represented by the taller contraptions, with the Troll Slayers having the large hammers attached to their right arm in the picture below. The Blitzers, pictured in the final photo in this entry with the wide stance.

    The team comes with a oddly red plastic vehicle, in this case, Ziggens will use it as a Dwarf Deathroller. While is isn't as imposing as the current Forge World Deathroller, it certainly follows the theme of the team. 
    In addition to the basic team, Ziggens included four additional contraptions, representing four popular Dwarf Star Players. These contraptions closely match the Troll Slayers and Blitzers, but have a few different legs and torsos. Pictured below, in order from left to right, is Boomer Eziasson, Barik Farblast, Flint Churnblade and Grim Ironjaw. The picture doesn't show Churnblade's saw blade/chainsaw very well, nor does it show Ironjaw's Gnome 'extend-o-fist', which clearly helps him frenzy players of the pitch.

    The team has been assembled and based, with priming as the next step. I'm not in love with these models, and I expect to run into some challenges with the project...however, given the nature of the models and my quick painting style thanks to Lahmian Medium, I expect the painting will go well. The plan is for red caps, mostly white beards (not Troll Slayers, obvi), olive tunics, and brown/black/grey/whatever boots and leather. The contraptions are puzzling, however. I'm sure I will paint them olive to match the team's tunics, but I will need something to break the monotony...battle damage for sure, but maybe another color. I may do some basic red striping to tie back to their caps, but I have time to decide. Also, I will need to find a way to identify easily the positionals; white for Runners, blue for Troll Slayers, red for Blitzers and grey for Longbeards. Feel free to offer advice in the comments section. 
    I'm excited to see where this project goes, please follow and offer comments along the way!

     
     
     
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