My Original Minis - Part 2

Here are some orcs I painted in the 80s. If I recall correctly these were some of the earliest slotta minis I purchased. I didn't have any other orcs, so these guys were never part of any army. I dry brushed these with too much white. At least they are matt. I'm fairly sure these were painted with Tamiya paints.

My Original Minis - Part 1

I still own most of my minis from the 80s. I was definitely not a good painter back (I'm only slightly better now - ha ha ha). So I thought it would be a good idea to share these early minis from my collection. Most of them still have their original paint job. Here is the first photo.

The mini was painted using enamels, which I purchased these from a local hobby store. The paints were intended for plastic model kits, and not minis. I had to use my father's turpentine to clean my brushes. Oh what a mess.

 You can see an early attempt at black-lining between the feet and the pantaloons. I don't think I black-lined anything ever again.

 I would love to re-paint these minis, especially the one on the left.

Bugman's Dwarf Rangers

My first minis I ever painted were the Citadel Dwarfs from the mid to late 80s, and even though I collected a few blisters of Imperial Dwarfs (I'll post photos of my early work, sometime soon), I never had enough funds to aquire a whole army. One of my desires was to own Bugman's Dwarf Rangers. In my mind it was a "must have" unit for my Dwarf army. Now, it is some 25 years later and I have just received the last few minis to make up my own Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.

These have taken about 2-3 years to collect. They have come from various sources. I am now ready to get them preped for painting. Some paint stripping, some undercoating and I am ready to paint my childhood (teenagehood) dream of a unit of Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.

I know, I am missing the musician, and I have find shields for them, but I am farily happy with my little unit. Here they are in their current state. I plan on posting more photos of these guys as I start painting them.

I'm back - what have I been doing?

It has been a long time since I have posted on my blog. Actually it has been a long time, since I have had any time for my miniatures. Life has been very interesting in the last 6 months. I have taken some time out  for myself, and to look after my health. I have separated from my wife, after 10 years of Marriage, and life has been a little hard for me. The good news is that I am doing OK! and because of that I want to return to the hobby that give ME a lot of pleasure, and that is painting little toy soldiers. So I am back.

Creating my first Paper Building for wargaming

Hello everyone. I have always wanted to make my own paper buildings for wargaming, and for many reasons, I have was unable to do so - Until Now. Here is my first attempt a creating a paper based model/terrain piece for a wargaming table.

It is a small brick and plaster house, with a slate roof. It has no windows (at the moment), and was created using Photoshop and Illustrator. It is about 28mm in scale. I have photographed it, with a Flintloque mini for scale comparison.

I can already see some changes I want to make to this model, as well as a plethora of future models, but I think it is "not too shabby" for a first attempt. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

I am influenced by the Dave Graffams Models (www.davesgames.net). The quality of his paper models are top notch.

Enjoy the pictures:

I'm taking a little break from the hobby

I have not had much time for the hobby in last few months. I have spent most of my free time on getting myself into a more health state. I have some ongoing health issues, like I am sure most of us do, but in the last 4-5 weeks, I have just foucused my energy on my health, which means my hobby time has completely diminished. I plan on coming back soon, I am just not sure when. I am thinking it will be a few (5-10)weeks before I return.

Paint Tips - Paint Additivies - Windex

I have started using windex as a paint addititive, primarily to thin my paint, especially to use it as a wash and also as a glaze/juice. I really like what windex does to the paint, and with my style of painting many thin layers, as opposed to one (or two) thicker coats, I find the windex is a great additive.

Here are a couple of pointers

• I dillute my windex with water, in about 1:3 ratio. That is, 1 part Windex and 3 parts water.
• The blue tint of the windex does not effect the tint of the paint.
• Windex has been used by air-brush users for years. So it is not a "new fad".

I will post some photos of minis, painted with paint thinned with Windex, shortly.