GW Contrast video (edited, and very slowly uploading :()

Just finished editing the video from yesterday, so I was hoping by the time I'm done typing this I could link it at the bottom.

Note (as I say on the video when it eventually makes it) - I'm not a great painter (my eyesight precludes any ambitions in that direction), and this isn't a demo. It's me recording my impressions of the new paints as I work my ham-fisted way through a few Dark Ages warriors from Gripping Beast. It's not by any stretch of the imagination (however warped yours may be) a tutorial on how to make them look good, merely good enough to rank up from 2' away.

Really.

If you want to waste 30 mins listening to me burble, that's fine, but don't expect to learn much about proper figure painting from it :D

Also, you will get to see and hear the paint shaker in action, because Contrast paints need some serious agitation. Apologies for the noise, and also for the not-brilliant framing of the video, as I'm not used to filming myself paint and I need the figure closer to me than is really good for the camera view :D

Sadly, it's taking forever to upload, and I have to be up for church, so I'm going to leave it to its own devices and do that last bit in the morning....

GW Contrast paint tryout

...because all the cool kids are doing it.

Four GW Dark Ages warriors for a test piece. I've videoed the entire (well barring the non-Contrast bits) process as well, and I may edit that and put it up if it's useable and you actually want to listen to me talking to myself and pontitficating in general while painting :D The video is 38 minutes, so that's how long it took me, not counting the undercoat and the shields.

Impressions? For a painter of my standard, it's absolutely no worse, probably better and certainly quicker, than base coat plus wash or dip. Yes, there are a couple of bits I need to touch up, looking at the photos :D. It's also worth keeping a bit of paper by your palette to run your brush on as a guide for the colour it will probably dry to.

The undercoat. It's supposedly 'ultra smooth'. It's also a bit enthusiastic,  so be gentle when spraying.

Not easy to tell what the end result colour will be from the bottle.

Undercoated

And done. The shields weren't done using contrast. 

Editing on the move...

Since I'm off to the States shortly, today's hobby effort has been setting up the iPad so I can work on the plane - while I am taking a laptop, it's a 15" MacBook, and they're a bit unwieldy, to say the least, on the tray table in an economy class seat :D

Fortunately, the master copy of the Dux Compendium is in Apple's Pages, for which Apple do an iPad version which is pretty much compatible. What I didn't know until I checked just now is you can install fonts on the iPad for Pages etc, which is very useful - except for the fact that it's taken me a while to remember what fonts I needed!

And that's the guerrillas done...

Just need to glue the magnets in the trays and edge the bases, but otherwise, that's another batch of Tom's excellent painting based. Much the same process as last time, as previously discussed.

Hopefully, I should be getting a batch of British line back off him soon :D

Chris Stoesen has a Chain of Command/IABSM scenario bundle for sale

The excellent and talented Chris Stoesen is doing a bundle deal on his WW2 Eastern Front scenarios. Allow me to quote:

I put together a combo pack of all my East Front Chain of Command supplements. It totals out to over sixty scenarios. I priced it at $20. 

I hope this will generate some interest. More info on it can be found here.

I had health issues in the beginning of the year and need to raise some money to clear out some bills. Please forgive my begging.

The bundle is only available here.

Thanks for your patience with me.

I commend this to you, not only because it's in a deserving cause, but because the man writes damn good stuff and more scenarios are always good. Even if you don't game Eastern Front, they are good inspiration for your own designs.

May I also therefore recommend the following, should you not have copies:

• To Covet Glory - 96 pages of Kiss Me Hardy goodness in real life hard copy
• A whole bunch of scenarios for Sharp Practice and other rules in his Payhip store. I'm particularly fond of The French Coast, as, well, I have these beach boards....

Basing the Spanish guerillas

Much the same story as the 95th, barring some undercoat on the bases and movement trays, and a coat of Iraqi Sand (I think) on the trays and Tamiya sand texture paint (which I am scraping the bottom of the jar for - it took some serious hammer back when my El Cid cavalry and Parthians got based :D) I did, though, buy some more grass tufts ('PECO' Wild Meadow, actually made by WarWorld Scenics).

Ink, drybrush and grass tomorrow.

Monday at the club's temporary home

By dint of a surprisingly small amount of tidying at my end, and a mammoth move of three cupboards worth of scenery and 36 boards from the St. John's Ambulance building, Peterborough Wargames Club is temporarily resident in my workshop/studio for the next two Mondays after today.

The one winning point it has over our regular venue just at the moment? It has air-conditioning, because we fitted air-source heat pump heating, and it does a great job of keeping the place cool when turned to the appropriate setting :D

We could, with hindsight, have just about fitted Posh Lard in!

And to prove it...

Rod and Reuben playing Cruel Seas, and Rod,
Dan, Adie and I playing Rumbleslam in the studio.
There is pretty much room for another 6x4 in the middle.

Shawn and Carl playing Saga; Ash, Pippa,
Grahame and Chris playing something in 6mm
 in the workshop. Harder to squeeze another 6x4,
as there's a fair amount of clutter (temporarily
the scenery cupboards and more permanently
the club's show direction signs and the 2' wall-
mounted worktop). Could be done though.