It’s not like I haven’t been painting, in fact I’ve painted a lot since my last post – a hell of a lot by my standards. I think the problem lies in actually taking photos of said miniatures. I have dusted off the camera and over the next few days and weeks pictures will finally be going up of things I’ve been working on and things I’ve completed of the past few months.

So what am I working on right now?

Having recently taken part in the UK Masters for Hordes/Warmachine my Trollbloods have come along leaps and bounds. After finishing off all the models I needed for the event there’s more painted than need painting now, and after the rush I had to get them done I’ve decided to steadily be painting towards the ultimate goal of having it all painted. Next on the list is Borka Kegslayer and his Pygmy companion.

With the UK Masters out of the way I have also made a start on my new Khador force. I have some WIPs in the shape of a Marauder warjack and The Butcher himself.

Firestorm Armada has taken my fancy too, and I only have a few escorts and a carrier to paint and they’re done. These babies are nice and easy to paint so that will be a quick “bish bash bosh” to get those done.

Finally, we turn to Warhammer 40,000 – my old friend and also my oldest enemy. For years I’ve built armies, painted a couple and each time I fall down defeated. This time will be no different I’m sure, but as part of the local club‘s tale of gamers project and thanks to some great background written by Ross I’m putting together a Subjugators Space Marine army. This for me is less of a gaming project and more a painting project. I have visions on how they will look, I’m busting out some nice freehand on every single miniature and at the end of it all want to have something I’m proud of.

That’s about it for now, that puts me at 4 ongoing projects, each of which I’ll be writing a post about over the next few days along with shots of what I’ve done etc.

So here is one of the Buggies from my Ork army. It has been made from a converted Truck kit, sprayed with a Platemail spray from Army Painter, washed with Badab Black and dry brushed with Boltgun metal. So working on the details and what not.

Removing Mold Lines

Often there will be “Mold Lines” present on the parts. This is due to how the Molds are put together whilst in production. Using a file these can be easily removed. If you were to leave these Mold Lines they would still be present on the finished miniature, and you don’t want that!

Washing Metal Parts

With metal parts, it is usually best to give them a quick wash in warm water before assembly. When metal parts are removed from the mold, a lubricant is used to get them out. This can still be present when you get your hands on it, and can cause difficulties when trying to glue them together.

Cutting Mat

A cutting mat is very useful to work on. It protects the surface underneath, so any slips of the knife or paint spillages are caught.

Brushes

Brushes are an obvious one as we’ll be painting, although which brushes to choose is a good question. There are a few brands of brushes out there designed for the detailed work you’ll be doing. Games Workshop’s range of brushes have recently been revamped and seem to be a good all round set of brushes. Army Painter have a range of brushes, although I’ve not tried them myself. Personally I have long been a fan of the Windsor & Newton Series 7 range, as even though they are more expensive, they are the best quality I have used. The important thing here is that you are comfortable using your brushes of choice.

Palette

A palette to mix paints in is essential, and the best thing for this I find is a ceramic tile or saucer. There are palettes you can buy out there but a saucer does the job perfectly, and most of the time you can use an old one for free! I’ve played around with “Wet Palette’s” in the past too, but still prefer my old saucers!

Water

An old jam jar is ideal as a water pot, but you can use anything you can put water in really. Remember to change your water regularly too!

Paints

Paints are another obvious one, but again which paints to choose is the question. Like brushes there are many choices. Personally I use both Games Workshop’s range and Vallejo’s Model Color range.

Daylight Lamp

As I mentioned in the previous section, you will need plenty of light! Ideally natural light, however sometimes you can’t paint near a window, and of course there’s no light at night time! Enter the Daylight lamp – or more specifically Bulbs. I have an angle-poise strip lamp bought from Ikea, and have put Daylight strip bulbs in. Daylight bulbs will give you clean light so you can see your colours perfectly (normal bulbs are usually tinted yellow and aren’t as bright).

Clippers

Clippers are ideal for removing models from sprues and removing unwanted parts. Personally I like Games Workshop’s clippers, but you can pick up a similar pair elsewhere.

Files

Files are useful for removing unwanted mold lines from models. I picked up a cheap set on ebay.

Super Glue & Plastic Glue

Glues are essential for putting your models together in the first place. Personally I like Loctite’s precision super glue and Games Workshop’s plastic glue.

So there we have some essentials. If you have any suggestions on alternatives for any of them post up a comment letting us know!