Roll Call: TGN Fundraiser

Tabletop Gaming News has been one of those sites that's really broadened my wargaming and modeling horizons over the years.  I check it constantly throughout the day waiting for the latest and greatest news to come from miniature companies around the world from the very smallest bits provider to the juggernauts of the industry.  The service they provide is invaluable to me and I suspect many around the internet.  This is where we all come in.  TGN is running a fundraiser right now to help support and expand the site, providing more of the greatness we've all enjoyed for so long, free of charge.  The best part?  They have a ton of great sponsors pitching in to help out! 

So head over to their fundraiser page to give back to a great group of guys and a service that you know you'll be using for many years to come!  If this is your first time seeing TGN, you've been left out for far too long!  As one day without them is one too many!  Give what you can and you might come away with something cool for doing something good! 

I can't express how much I love that site and what they do!  In fact I have to say I was half inspired to create this blog based on how well TGN worked!  Much thanks to Zac and crew!

Ask the Corps: A Pair of Serpents

A group in Austin is working on an Eldar army in the Yme-Loc paint scheme.  Local Psyberwolfe did the great Autarch above and others have been working as well: Bushido Red Panda completed a Cobra and Crazed Red Pretorian is working on a squad of Banshees.

As you can see the color scheme is orange and a nice blue-grey.  My contribution is a pair of Wave Serpents and I originally wanted to do inverted paint schemes on the two.  But then I laid down the base coat on the first one and it turns out that my love affair with orange is still ongoing. (Engines are Tamiya Hull Red, Orange is GW's Foundation Orange shaded with 50-50 Hull Red and highlighted with Tamiya Orange; all laid down with the airbrush.)

Now I'm thinking that I want to lay down the underside of the Serpent in the grey-blue.  Or perhaps just the turret in the grey and the underside an even darker grey-blue.  Or, looking at the rest of the pieces, maybe I should keep the underside white and use the grey-blue on the Wave Serpent energy projectors, just as a touch of color?

And if that's for one, what do you think about the second Wave Serpent?  Inverted color-scheme of the first?  Or identical scheme with other identifying marks?

Have at it!  Let me know what you think for dealing with this unusual color scheme.

Field Report: Golden Demon Spain 2011

Volomir's blog has a great set of photos for us contest photo junkies!  I'm always a big fan of seeing what folks come up with in Europe and seeing the different styles flourish and change from Demon to Demon.  Big big thanks to Volomir for posting such a great set of photos.  I have a feeling I'll be looking to these for inspiration for some time to come!  Head over and take a look!

I really love the Sigmar diorama.  Very cool idea and fantastic presentation.  What's your favorite from the Spanish set this year?

On The Table: Bases Sanguine

I've been mulling over the idea of getting my Angels Sanguine built up into a proper army at long last and have been slowly collecting bits as well as putting the models I plan to use for them to the side.  I've accumulated a good amount of models so far and am planning one last purchase or two that would get them off and running, not to mention fieldable!

For now though, I've taken some time today to crank out a fair amount of bases to save some time down the road.  They're a take off of the work I've already done with my Angels Sanguine Terminator Squad that I made use of the Space Hulk terminators for.  The basing scheme worked well and quickly for them, and works even faster for regular models.  In the end it's a Ork Hulk/Krooza feel and that's something I'm more than happy with!  I've even taken it a few steps further this time creating elevated platforms on two that were built up making small box shapes out of plasticard.  All around it's a variety of plasticard thicknesses, tubing, guitar wire and Contour Mesh for texture.  Rivets were also added that I made using a punch.  I did consider using my tiny rivets, but ended up liking the chunky feel to the big ones.

I'm not certain when this army will see full out build and paint sessions yet, but this was actually a nice breather and allowed me to just play around with ideas while sticking to the theme.  It also let me knock out what could have been a speed bump from unit to unit in a part of a morning!  Getting 17 bases done, including one that fits the slot for my Sanguinor ( Thanks Santa Cruz Warhammer! ).

A single Death Company box should get this army going nicely, and with the bits I've already picked up from the box from Battleroad Games' Ebay shop, I'll have enough cool stuff to help deck out my Assault Squads as well! 

With so many bases it's going to be hard not to start modeling the assault squads right away!  Anyone seen any cool basing ideas around the web lately?

Friday Quick Tip: Wet Palette Improvement

From the Yup, Still Friday Department...

Many moons ago, I shared the cheap wet palette that Mathieu Fontaine used in his classes.  I have been using this wet palette since we hosted Mathieu for a Masterclass in Austin (mostly because I had plenty of plates left over).  Some of the comments asked about the long-term cost effectiveness of this palette because some of the elements are disposable.  It turns out that the plastic plates are quite durable, but I am often replacing the paper towel base as the paper stiffens and reduces its ability to hold water.  I'm always on the lookout to make it better, while still keeping it cheap.