aWIP -Dwarves, the grumpy pig and a sneak peak

Hello loyal Pig Fanciers

It's certainly been a while since I last posted any of the good stuff (eye candy) from the pen, unfortunately burn out is approaching, I can feel it in my water's. For four days in a row I have walked past the door to the painting cave without so much as a thought to opening it, that is a sure sign that I'm getting painting burn out, not even a flicker of interest. I'm afraid that this years annual 'what the hell was I thinking when I agreed to that' painting commish has taken it's toll, it will get done of course they always get done.  I certainly wasn't as active with the camera as I should have been it's straight into the post as soon as the sealing coat is hard cured.

 I did promise to keep a few to one side and take some photo's as they progress (my usual thing) so here is some of the shots so far which will be destined for a bit of a walk through later so please excuse my lack of explanatory diatribe for now. Above you can see part of the commish  in the tub (160 odd in total, I feel like Gulliver) and some of the figures I pulled to one side to feature in the foreground, Yes plastic and metal, painted and unpainted.

remember to click on the pic for bigness

They were very dusty and paint was flaking off all over the place...

....even using low pressure air and a soft make up brush to clean them

Washes of tinted and un-tinted matte medium

Started blending and shading the blue parts

Leather work under way

Beard and hair as well

As soon as I considered a section......

.....  was complete it received a coat of clear satin......

...  for protection, as is my norm, and to reinforce against flaking.

Not fully completed but close, highlighted the hair a little more......

....and at the time was not sure about the powder flasks and some of the metal components

The problem I'm facing is once I have completed the Dwarfs and should be settling down to my normal painting routine, which includes painting some of my own projects, I'm just not going to be interested. Thinking about that is already starting to shit me which in turn means I'm getting grumpier and even less likely to pick up a brush. At least I have some new, and old, books that have been clamouring for some attention, so me thinks come mid May it's going to be myself, Franz Szabo, Duffy, Noseworthy, Chandler, the ol' Author Conan Doyle, China Mieville, a bottle of Bushmills 16yo and afternoon naps in the sun room. Will someone tell my wife!

I sneaked a bit of paint onto one of my Calpe mini's while the Dwarves were looking the other way

 I shouldn't whinge too much, the dwarves have paid for two first editions, a plane ticket, and of course a bottle of Bushmills 16 yo!

thanks for looking and your patience

News - time theives, facebook presence

I haven't had a  posting on the Ask Paint Pig blog for a couple of weeks now due to number of events which are contriving to steal my time.

It's campaigning season with Peters long planned 1814 Battle for France kicking off, so lots of rules and history cramming and plenty of thinking to do coupled with a large dose of scheming, some plans are so cunning you may be forgiven for mistaking them for a weasel.  As the official war historian it is my job to keep the masses abreast of the ebb and flow of  the campaign.  Not unpleasant loss of time in the least, the latest post of our hi-jinx can be found here at fig v fig.

I shouldn't really call the next ongoing event unpleasant but it is starting to become tedious, Dwarfs, lots of GW plastic and metal Dwarfs.  Practically all have been previously painted to varying degrees, doesn't vary much above good-ish, and it's my job to make them look presentable, a species of army refurbishment. They are not going to be stripped as it wasn't economical for myself (at the amount willing to be be spent) or the client (at the price quoted). This was a mistake for both of us as a lot of the metal figures aren't primed or undercoated and the paint is flaky and easily chipped, a solution that didn't involve huge amounts of time or materials was needed. I think we have managed to come up with a happy compromise which will provide a suitable paint job and some durability. More to come on this subject, with accompanying eye candy, as I get closer to posting this lot.

Last of all, Ask Paint Pig now has a face book presence, just over there on the left *huzzaaah*, so for those that think my endless diatribe is worth following we now have a new way of communicating. I suspect your wondering "why so long" and "bout time paint pig you luddite".  I will admit to having had an account for some time but I didn't tend to spend much face time (read none) with the beast of social Notworking. The reasons for my resistance are few but compelling, well compelling to me, but we shall forget all that and embrace the F word.  Blog followers and fellow gamers are of course welcomed with open arms and a jar of the good stuff so look me up via the Ask Paint Pig facebook badge there.

thanks for looking
dave

aWIP - Calpe 28mm French Nap - Updated 10th March

I have these lovely Calpe Miniatures French in the painting queue (for figvfig blog) at the moment I have only opened one pack (F4) to have a look at the casings and take some photo's,  "wow" was the first thing I said when I saw them on the big screen, judge for yourself.  Click on the pictures for extra goodness.

As I have mentioned before I am some what of a dabbler when it comes to Naps so uniform details aren't my strong point but insofar as sculpting and casting quality is concerned the detail is quite lovely.

I have high hope for these figures from both my perspective as a painter and as a punter, I would certainly like to see Calpe progress as a brand if this is any indication of the quality. At the risk of sounding like an infomercial "go get some".

I wont be able to follow this up with another WIP for a bit as work is coming in steadily, these guys are going to have to wait for the paid painting to slow a little.

UPDATE - I shouldn't be doing this, too much on, but kids and candy have nothing on war gamers and their shiny.

 Clearly neither are finished but they are starting to come together nicely,  problem with such clearly sculpted detail is I now have to work out what it all is? I have the bits of rope accoutrement sorted ;-)

Hope you enjoyed this little look see
Dave

Oh yeah, this is Nancy (Sid's about some where), she likes to help with the photography.... poseur!

Ephemora but funny.

I just had to re post this, from SD Forum...... click for bigness

Looks pretty accurate from where I'm sitting, the last photo should be a catalogue ....for more shiny

thanks for looking
Dave