Friday Quick Tip: Gundam Nippers

 

As some of you may have noticed, I've been slowly working my way back into the hobby pretty heavily. From consuming as much about the lore as I can, to learning the new fun stuff in the rules, to getting my mitts on the new hot models, it's been a wild ride to be back and active again.

One of the very first things I snagged was a new set of clippers. And let's just say, the clipper game has changed since I was grabbing my first set of GW clippers. One of those big changes was the overlap with the Gundam world. Gundam nippers are a different breed, and with good reason. The hobby over there needs precise and clean right away off the sprue for a lot of people and the better the 'nippers' the better the nip (?).

Doing a bit of online searching and I found these red handled beauties: the P.I.T.4.5 INCH Model Nipper. They're right in that sweet spot of good, reliable, and affordable. 

I picked them up a year and a half ago and I have to say I'm super happy with them. As long as they make these little dudes will likely continue using them. They've seen me through Indomitus, Leviathan, and a number of boxes of models I'd rather not put into writing and still going strong. I highly suggest these as a go to for anyone in the market for a new pair.

You can find them here on Amazon.

If you have a favorite hobby tool you think everyone should be using, drop the link in the comments so we can check it out! It might end up featured here as well!

Friday Quick Tip: Easy Deck Plating

 

Coming back to the hobby after what feels like a solid decade away was daunting. I just wanted to jump back in and get going. I had a plan of what I'd start with and it would change every couple of days. I eventually got stuck in with a Raven Guard Intercessor Kill Team that I would expand into boarding actions as a full fledged 40k army. In selecting that, I also needed to sort out just how I would build out the bases. I'd done a rusty space hulk basing before and wanted something that would simplify that down a little further. A little plasticard and some glue later, I think I've come across a basing style that is as simple as it is effective. 

On The Table: Raven Guard

 

After finishing the initial set for my Intercessor Kill Team, I decided to start in on the rest of the force and get the other kill teams/options worked up as well as the add ins for my 40k Boarding Action army!

Little did I know just how long that bit would take.

Unboxed: Plastic Farseer

For my upcoming commission project, my friend wants to do a Farseer and Warlock biker set.  To do that, we decided upon the new plastic Farseer kit from GW!  So, to show off the new kit, I've done a short unboxing.  Hope this helps those of you who have been looking at the kit to see just what you can use it for!

Terrain: Shipping Container

Hello from the overburdened world of art school!  I thought I would take some time to get the finished results of the shipping container up for everyone to check out.  It really didn't take this long, I just haven't found time to put the finished piece up!

On The Table: Shipping Container

As many of you might have noticed, things have slowed down to a trickle here on TPC. I've recently started classes at Maryland Institute College of Art and it's near completely wiped my free time from existence. I'm constantly trying to keep afloat in what seems an unending torrent of work. As a way to keep myself sane though, I've been working on a small project over the last week in the shape of the shipping container you see above!

Terrain: Quick Desert Set

This coming weekend I have a gaming day with a small group of friends at one of their houses.  The only problem is, there isn't much in the way of a gaming set up!  So, to help kick the day off right and make for a much more interesting gaming environment, I've taken it upon myself to create a set of really fast and easy terrain!  The idea is simple, build a set of basic terrain mostly from what I've got laying about!

Friday Quick Tip: Sandstone/Limestone Cliff/Hill Face

With classes picking back up, time is at a premium yet again.  A lot of introductions and supply lists for my latest batch of art supplies this week.  But in trying to keep with my wants for this school semester I've been working on a small terrain piece in the form of a display board.  With a few ideas floating around in my head I got knee deep into modeling it and found a nice way of carving out a rather convincing hill face that won't eat up your nights. 

The supplies needed are minor at worst.  A hobby knife, pink/blue insulation foam, a large paint brush, and some white glue.  You'll also end up using your hands for this one, so be prepared to dig your mitts into that foam.  Shorter fingernails will likely work best for this as you won't want to dig too much into the foam.

Some of you might remember my extremely extensive Hills Tutorial from a few years back.  These hills have started their life in much the same way as those, with a hot wire cut slope.  But that's mostly where the similarities will end.  The angle I use is aesthetically pleasing and works nicely for gaming as well as it's a shallow cut that keeps the lost space to a minimum.  In the image above to the right you can see the angle nicely.  

To start things off, I went at the side of the hill with the utility knife cutting a lot of shallow lines in a crosshatching pattern.  The knife blade should dig into the foam around a quarter of an inch.  Be sure to use lengthwise cuts as well as the regular x-patterned ones.  These lengthwise cuts will be useful in creating a striated layered look.  Just be careful!  I found myself getting lazy a few times, almost cutting myself as I hacked away!  Luckily, all of my fingers are still in place with no jagged stitch-work by a young nervous intern.

Go the full length of the hill side you're working on, and if you have any other hills/segments to work on, you might as well have at them as well to save some time!  Take note of the top and bottom edges of the foam in the photo above though.  I wasn't afraid to cut around those areas and you shouldn't be either!  You need that randomness to the edges as well and if you get too crazy with the knife, you can always patch that area up a little later with some rocks and gravel.  

Now that the length of the foam is crosshatched and roughed up, you can get to the heart of the work and create a craggy rough appearance.  To start off, run your fingers into the grooves and rip up some of the foam.  You want to create longish grooves and dig out some spots to make overhangs in some places.  This is extremely messy, so pick a spot, and stick to it.  A spot that you can easily vacuum around will be best.  Be sure you're not getting it up around your face either, you don't need this stuff to embed somewhere deep in your lungs.

To help out the grooves and striated look, take your hobby knife with the knife blade as you see above and drag it along in some places to really dig into the foam and build your layers.  This will really help drive the aesthetic home and gives you a little more control over the final look.  The big thing for your finished hill side is to get rid of any hanging foam.  Drag your hand lightly along the cliff face a bunch of times and most of the loose bits will fall away.  

To help seal the side of the hill and keep it from flaking away on you, you'll want to seal it with some watered down PVA White Glue.  Just apply the white glue loosely from the bottle onto the hill face and using a watery paint brush wash the entire surface in glue.  Be sure to use plenty of glue and plenty of water to get into all of the nooks and crannies all along the hill.  Allow the glue to fully dry and give it another coat.  After one coat the hill side was firmed up but not quite solid enough to withstand much punishment, with two it seems much more game worthy.  

My biggest worry when I started the hills was that the foam would break away and the entire experiment would be a wash.  But thanks to a few glue washes, all of my fears were left behind.  I'm very happy with the effect I've been able to achieve with such simple tools and in quick fashion.  This is an interesting take on what can otherwise be a bland area of your terrain, and while it might not be something you would use on every single hill face, it could definitely break up the monotony of your gentile rolling slopes!

Expect more from this project as I move forward with it.  The techniques I am testing out with this will likely find their way into a full on gaming table project later this year!

Friday Quick Tip: Glass Bead Rivets

I've never gotten too deep into scratch building or kit bashing in all of my years of wargaming.  But the need has arisen as of late to get serious about both and with that comes new ideas, tips and techniques.  Today I am sharing a method I've known about for some time, but never gave a try, Glass Bead Rivets.

Friday Quick Tip: Space Hulk Basing

There was a plan devised in my skull when I first got my toes wet in the game of Space Hulk so many months ago at BoLSCon.  I was for sure going to see what I could do to get these amazing models out and on the gaming table for a game of 40k.  I didn't want to make it so I couldn't use the pieces in their parent game though, so I had to do some work to make that a reality.  After a lot of delay, I've finally gotten around to working on the models, and in today's tip, I'll go over how I went about basing my Space Hulk Terminators. 

Adepticon 2010: Day 1

The first Eye Candy of Adepticon Gladiator: Todd Bryant's scratch built Warhound Titan.  And the first Quick Tip: the best and easiest way to get those uniform plasma coils: use IDE ribbon cable.

More coming soon!

Friday Quick Tip: Resin Basing Metal Models

After acquiring a set of resin bases from Dragonforge Design recently, I've decided that my Eldar force I've been planning for some time would see the light of day and get the full resin treatment. Little did I know how much a pain it would be to make sure the mostly metal models I have on hand were well secured to their base.


To start off, you're going to need to remove that tab. Just clipping it off isn't going to cut it either. Break out the hobby knife and files and make sure the bottom of the foot is good and flat. Some models are a bit more of a pain than others in this regard. You'll notice that some models use 'pins' of their own to secure them to the tab, that's going to have to go as well!


Once you have the feet flattened down, start to get an idea of where your model will end up. Try a few different options and you might have to be a bit creative to get the pose you are looking for and you might even need to try different bases. Notice the base I'm using in the photo above? It's completely different from the one I stated off wanting to use! Options are a good thing to have when basing metal models.


If you don't have a pin vice at this point, you need one. You'll use it over and over again throughout your modeling career. Drill out a spot on the base and a spot in the foot of your model. Some models have smaller feet and your pin size and bit size will dictate where you're able to pin the model.


Placement of the pin is actually a bit more work than I expected. I found myself placing the pin, in this case a paper clip, and clipping it down multiple times before the model stood flush with the base. If you really want a secure join, a bit of green stuff could do the trick in the base and the foot of the model. I had to use green stuff with a squad of Howling Banshees in fact, as they're far too front heavy and all on one foot.


Don't forget to score the models feet and maybe the contact points on the base before gluing. A quick drop of glue in the pin holes and on the feet of the model should do. Hold firm for a little while and let dry! Once dry, you should have a well secured model that won't give you much hassle down the road.

This tip is mostly about pinning as you can see, but a few considerations need to be taken as you base your metal models. Pin size, bit size, balance and green stuff will all be important to account for! For those of you who are new to pinning, hopefully this gives you a bit of insight into its many uses!

Field Report: Slithering Hive Guard

Here's a great take on Hive Guard posted by Rob on Spikey Bits. He's used Raveners as the base of the conversion to give a really cool Zerg feel to them. Check out the full article here.

Friday Quick Tip: Scoring Metal

While putting a good chunk of new Eldar together, I've realized that there is a simple tip to assembling metal models that I've yet to see covered or even talked about by anyone around the web. It's a simple technique I picked up way back in middle school and uses the tools you already have on hand for modeling.


The newer metal models are good about having sockets of some type for a good amount of support for joints and joins on the piece. But see how smooth those surfaces are? The contact surfaces aren't good anchor points for the glue to hold tight to. So break out that hobby knife and carve up the contacts a bit!


The above is post knifing and will be a much better attachment point than the previous smooth parts. The basic idea is that you're increasing the surface area of your join and giving the glue more spots to get into and hold tighter. You'll notice a significantly reduced hold time as well. I know I have far less issues with models I use this on than models I don't. Which makes me wonder why I don't do this with every metal model...


Just a quick spot of glue on either side and a quick moment held together should do it! You've got a much stronger join now with the extra effort of just a matter of seconds. Should you want a little more support to the join without the hassle of pinning, see the shavings? Sprinkle those on the wet glue, they'll add just a bit of a faster dry time as well as adding some more strength. Just be sure to use the finer stuff like the bottom right and not the bottom left!

There are a lot more ways to go about joining metal, if you've got a good idea, link or rundown, we would love to hear about it! If you give this a go, share your thoughts and results as well!

Friday Quick Tip: Ho-Ho-Ho, Traitor Scum!

Bell of Lost Souls author and local Black Templar player Bushido Red Panda swings by this Christmas with an extra dose of holiday spirit. You can check his work out at BoLS and his own blog; Bushido in the 41st Millennium.

I was finally able to finish my venerable dread from the earlier part of the year. I've always meant to give him the hat he deserved. I decided the best way would be to make it out of green stuff. I made the base first, and then made the hat to go on top of it. I finished off with the pom for the tip. I ended up having to re-glue the pom after it fell off, but it still worked fine.




The paints were a no-brainer...

The Order of the Silent Knight, spreading Christmas cheer throughout the galaxy... one massacre at a time.

Bushido Red Pando reports "the hat and beard are reserved for another project", so I can't wait to see what he's cooking up. Merry Christmas all!

Friday Quick Tip: Model Builder Software

Today's tip is brought to us by LBursley and a great looking quick terrain making program. Check it out:




I think with a good eye, a sharp knife, and a bit of foamcore, you could come up with some really fantastic looking terrain piece with little effort. This would be great for building up a table with a good amount of terrain quickly.

Anyone have any experience working with 'paper' terrain? Any tips or tricks everyone should know?

Friday Quick Tip: Doll House Accessories

A long while back now, I started a Cityfight mini board that I used as a test bed for a lot of different terrain building techniques and materials I had never used before. From that 2x2 mini table I still garner a lot of inspiration for different terrain projects and today, it's the source of a very simple, but very helpful details that adds a lot of character to otherwise bland terrain.

The idea came to me when I was perusing the doll house section of my local hobby shop. I found a great street sign right away that would end up being a central detail of the entire table! I had a perfect intersection on the table to use the sign on right near a huge blast crater. To make the sign fit more with the scene, I bent it back on itself some as if bent out from the bombing. I then painted it up, adding some roman numeral street names to the signs and viola!


Some additional paint lines to help denote the area as an intersection and we were golden! Note the dust and dirt up on the sign. It's weathered slightly, but not quite to my current weathering standard, so someday, I might end up going back to it with the sponge method for damage. There are some damage scrapes on the other side using the old black and metal method though.

But that wasn't the only piece I picked up while I was at the hobby shop! I also found a sheet of fantastic scaled tile! The second I saw it, I knew it would be a prominent feature in my floors for the table. The beauty of the flooring that many hobby stores offer is that there are multiple kinds of flooring. They even offer carpeting for those of you looking to REALLY add some spice to your terrain!


The Tile Flooring I picked up was nice and thin and was quite easy to cut to fit! For most of the floors I simply did a basic color with a wash or drybrush. In this example you can see I went a bit off my rocker and hand painted a bunch of Fleur De Lis! In fact you could do any tile variations you see in real life with just a bit of practice and a steady hand!

My dig through the doll house section ended after I stumbled across a set of two scale paintings. The paintings themselves were of horses, which were of no interest to me, but the frames! They were perfect! And with that I ran home and got to work. I stripped the card painting from the back and cleaned it up a bit. For my paintings I had an extra 3rd Edition 40k box laying about taking up space, so I cut out some of the old John Blanche art from the rim and trimmed them to size. Glued them in and put them into place inside my buildings! When it was time to paint the terrain, I just masked over the painting with some masking tape and once painting was complete, I removed the mask! The end result is a really great detail that makes your building feel and look like it's been occupied! Not the cold dead uninhabited mess that many terrain tables seem like.


There are so many things that can be conscripted from the world of doll house building into our more brutal vision of the future (or past!)! You just have to be willing to look for the things that will fit nicely with the scale and feel you are going for. With all of the small details I picked up from a single trip to the hobby shop, I will be digging through these sections for many many years to come as they will forever be a fantastic source for many of the things that make the battlefield feel more real, and worth fighting over.

Have you found a great alternate source of terrain features? We would love to hear about them!

Friday Quick Tip: Ork Trukk

Today's Quick Tip is more of a declaration; a result of a realization I recently put together. The light shone down and all the past little tid bits and pictures I've seen in the past suddenly came together into a realization.

The Ork Trukk is the best model that GW makes.

Here's the thing: in an army there's all sorts of fighting vehicles and most of them are well represented. But when an army goes to war there are probably just as many support vehicles as there are tanks. And army needs trucks-- trucks of all kinds. And while there are big tanks, little tanks, grav tanks, open-topped tanks, APCs, and all sorts of self-propelled artillery pieces made by GW there aren't very many trucks.

Luckily the Ork Trukk is extremely flexible and makes the basis for everything from four wheels to ten. Here are a few Trukks that have inspired me in my latest creation.




Dave Taylor's Ork Trukk reversion was one of the first conversions that started me thinking about the potential of the Trukk. Dave's vision was to create the original Imperial Guard truck that was the basis for the looted Ork Trukk. He's since started a three part tutorial and set of downloadable templates for this conversion.




Another fantastic Trukk conversion is Warboss GargDregga's Tanker Trukk. Multiple Trukk kits and extensive plasticard and tube was used in this incredible piece.




The Trukk is good for more than 6 wheel trucks, too. By inverting the axles, removing one of the sets of rear tires and cutting down the overhang you get a real nice car chassis. kenshin138's hotrod styled Trukk is a fantastic testament to how flexible and recyclable the Ork Trukk kit pieces are.




Here's the basis of the car conversion. In this case I've mid mounted the engine for my Formula Waaaghn project. Movement of the gas tank is optional, the key is to mount the axles upside down to get a lower vehicle. For this car I also cut the frame to fit the axles since it was too high below the frame and too low when mounted above.

To balance the ride height adjust the angle of the front axle to get the rank that look to you. Don't glue the wheels until the axles are glued and secured. Once the axles are set you can rotate the irregular shaped Ork wheels to get and even balance on the car, so that each of the wheels sit on the road evenly.

I'll do a full write up on my car at a later date, but after building a few normal Trukks I just can't see anything but all sorts of new conversion ideas. Besides all sorts of military support vehicles, I can't wait to build an El Camino Trukk!

What other ideas are out there for truck-based vehicles? And if you think there's a model as flexible as the Ork Trukk, let me know!

Friday Quick Tip: Tree Templates

When it comes to trees, I've always wanted to do a set that were extremely functional. And when I put together my Autumn Foothills mini-board, I had the chance to make that wish a reality. When I started thinking about how to go about them I came up with a great way to make them look great and remain game friendly by using Woodland Scenics Fantastic Trees.

Some of what you'll need:

• Woodland Scenics Trees
  
• MDF
• White Glue
• Sand/Ballast
• Lichen/foliage
• Flock/Static Grass
• Spackle
  
• Paints
• Tools
  

To start off I used a piece of paper to rough out the size and shape of the template I was going to create. I know it seems like a step you might be able to skip, but for my foothills, space was a commodity I wasn't rolling around in. So using this method helped me be sure my templates would fit the table with ease.


Using the template made from paper I traced its outline to the MDF board using a sharpie. When cutting my templates I usually use a Hand Saw
to rough cut my shapes and a Rasp to help the curves along.


Using a mouse sander I put a nice bevel to the edge to help give it a more 'finished' appearance. I also use the Rasp to rough this step out.


Place your trees and glue them down using some white glue or super glue. Once dry, remove the trees from their trunks. It will make the base much easier to work with from here out.


I used spackle to create a root system and sand to rough the surface. When making the spackle roots, use your forefinger and thumb to squeeze the spackle into the board and drag it along to create 'veins' along the roots. Sharpen the details using a sculpting tool of some sort when dry. After creating the roots, paint on some white glue and sand much of the surface for a nice rough texture.


I used a Bestial Brown color followed by a quick drybrush of Snakebite Leather and an even lighter drybrush of Bleached Bone for the trunks and trees. Rocks were picked out with Codex and Fortress Grey, again drybrushed with Bleached Bone. Woodland Scenics Turf was also added after painting.


All in all the finished product follows much of the same conventions as my hill tutorial. I highly suggest you check that out as well if you've got a bit of time on your hands!!

One upgrade you may consider for this project would be to magnetize your tree trunks. I did this by using a magnet in the trunk and in the tree (making sure their facing the right direction!!) and hiding them using some Testors Contour Putty and sculpting it to fit the details in the tree trunks. They do work just fine as they come though, and I highly suggest the Woodland Scenics Trees to anyone looking for a quick effective forest!

So I've shown my favorite method for creating forest templates, what's yours?