A Month of Sundays - my 96hrs of painting challenge

[voyager]

Thank you for clearing up that mystery, and it makes the solution easy - I just need to add a second layer. I'll fix that up tonight. I've been using these guys as the workbench (so to speak) before beginning on the army proper. I have plenty more gators to paint (see below).

I have enjoyed working on them, although I'll be the first to say they aren't my best work - just found it relaxing to work on something where pushing the boundaries wasn't required to get a result I'm happy with. They won't embarrass me on the tabletop

In other miniature news, the rebuilt studio made me realise that my "Shelf of Shame" is getting pretty large, so I spent a session finishing things I have been ignoring or just plain got fed up with - getting them off the shelf and into the display cabinet. I'll take a photo of them later (maybe tomorrow) and add them to this log. They range from a couple of Reaper figures for my regular D&D group through to a couple of PP models.

For those who care, here is the army list for the gators:

Bloody Barnabas
2 x Blackhide Wrastlers
Bull Snapper
Wrong Eye
Snapjaw
Max (10) Bog Trogs
Max (5) Gatorman Posse
Min (3) Gatorman Posse
Croak Hunter
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew

I've also got Caliban the Grave Walker and the 2 spare Gatormen Posse figures - they'll be painted and based but aren't in the army list.

[sea.man]

so maybe you would like to join our Tale of gamers? there is a separate section on the forum

[Nameless]

that's an interesting project, I'm watching it closely

[voyager]

so maybe you would like to join our Tale of gamers? there is a separate section on the forum

I could certainly do so, however I don't just paint armies - in fact when it comes to army painting, I'm the king of procrastination Case in point - I picked up WM/H about 2 years ago, I have three WM/H armies with a total of 144 models between them (yes, I know these numbers from memory - how sad am I?) - and I've completely painted a grand total of 19 models so far - and I still proxy a whole bunch of stuff because I haven't even assembled a lot of it!!!

Additionally, I tend to jump around between stuff. For instance, I have a couple of Reaper figures in transit at the moment which I need for a D&D game I'm playing in - they'll probably get a fairly high priority. I've built up a nice display base for an old GW gryphon, and of course the Wolfen Predator base & figure... it goes on

If you'd like me to separate out army list content vs other stuff I am certainly happy to do so - it's your forum after all Just say the word.

[sea.man]

It is every member forum and not just 'our'
I have mentioned the Tale of gamers, if you need some motivation for painting an army. I like watching the progress how an army grows and keeping it all in one place helps me a bit I run 3 tales (eldar, VC and the Immortals) and if I paint something that is not related with them I just post it in my own thread.

[voyager]

OK, well, I will think about breaking it all up a bit then. We can eee how long it takes for me to forget which thread is which and post something in the wrong place. Not long I suspect

[voyager]

Session #7 & #8
Saturday 7th July & Sunday 15th July
Time Spent: 10 hours (62 hours remaining)
Worked on: Swamp Gobbers, Viktoria, Wolfen Predator

OK, so right away there is a fair bit in here. Not all of it is to my highest standard but was required to try out some new techniques. After all, that's part of learning. So let's start.

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew
OK, these guys were plain done for fun. The models are cool, they are full of character - plus my army needs them. They took maybe 2 hours for the pair EXCLUDING the basework (which was about another hour for the pair - NOT counted for the purposes of this project). They may not be the best paintjobs in the world but I really like them.
Learnings: sometimes you just gotta do something because it's fun!

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew
Click to see full-sized image

Viktoria, Outcast Bounty Hunter
This took about 3 hours to complete - in this case I counted the base as it was prefabricated and took about 5-10 minutes. Again, not my finest work but I was experimenting with matte medium and using colours I'm not familiar with (the purple duster and the hair colours specifically). The photo doesn't show her face but rest assured it's fully painted including the eyes.
Learnings: Neither matte medium nor purple are scary and I should use them more

Viktoria, Outcast Bounty Hunter
Click to see full-sized image

Wolfen Predator of Blood (on custom scenic base)
OK, NOW we're back to it. This took around 5 hours so far - around an hour to basecoat the skin, around 3.5 hours to do the face (to this point at least, obviously not finished) and then moved onto the chest and back (30min to this point - obviously I only JUST began to highlight there). The photo is not great, but it gets the point across - my biggest issue to date is not painting enough contrast, so I tried to really push it. I could probably push further but I think this is a good point to stop until the bulk of the model is complete and I can assess it better. Either way I think it's an improvement. Please note the blends on the model are a little nicer than the photo shows as it's washed out the shadows pretty badly.
Learnings: pushing the contrast, working with a colour palette I'm not familiar with. Paint the eyes FIRST so you can fix any screw ups before they become nightmares.

Wolfen Predator of Blood - !!WIP!!
Click to see full-sized image

So there we are, now this thread is FINALLY up to date again. I'm approximately 1/3rd of the way through this project now.

[ratboy]

That's great work on the Wolfen. I am really envious of that base too.

[voyager]

Haven't updated this for a long time, but I'm still kicking around. Just been really busy with work and other stuff recently and have not had much time to build/paint/play. Spent a bit of time building scenic bases in readiness for more painting. My favourite of these (so far) is a sewer that I built out of old Hirst Arts cobblestone pieces (no pictures yet, sorry) and what will eventually become a grassy meadow with stream, bushes and trees. Here's a dodgy iPad camera photo for your viewing (dis)pleasure

Click to see full-sized image
Forest lawn base - !!WIP!!

The model that will eventually be attached to it is currently just placed there for positioning

[sea.man]

It looks good at the moment. I only think that this something standing in front of the miniature will distract from the miniature itself.