Razorbakz #4 - a shiny new chainsaw

So, the amazing Mr Inkpwn (I think) over at TalkFantasyFootball suggested that they start a monthly painting competition (similar to what some over discussion boards do). November's category was secret weapons, and I just happened to have a mini undercoated and ready to go on my painting desk...

Here he is, the star with the scars!

If you're interested in seeing any of the other entries, head over the TalkFantasyFootball and take a look (you will need to be a member of the site to access that link though... sorry, not my rules).

As usual, any comments and criticisms are welcomed.

Light Box Awesomeness

Hellooooo!

I feel like I've been neglecting the Studio (and the Hall for that matter) recently. Unfortunately, real life has been extremely busy... but you don't care about that. Fortunately, Southern Shrike Bowl 4 was held on the weekend and, amongst other shenanigans, tomfoolery and games of Blood Bowl, the organiser Adam brought along his light box.

I've wanted a light box for a while, but it's something I haven't yet sprung for. I'm not entirely convinced we were able to get the best shots possible, but I was able to take some pics of some miniatures that are slightly better than previous pics posted.

So, I thought I'd share and see what you thought...

Oh, and how did I fare at SSB you ask? Well, 8th overall in the gaming stakes (4-0-2 record for the weekend) with the Duskrunners, most touchdewns for and, yes, best painted team. There was some stiff opposition this year though, with a number of very well-painted teams showing up and making the affair a very colourful one.

But without further ado...

Some pics of the Duskrunners, starting with my new, sculpted and painted air elemental (counts as a wardancer) "Eurus the East Wind" who, incidentally, has to have come close to tournament MVP!

The earth elemental (counts as a treeman), "Cruac the River Bed":

The team:

And Jordell Freshbreeze:

The Drakwald Ravens are not my oldest Blood Bowl team, but they are the one that I have run with for the longest, through a stretch as the Marienburg Ravens, and back again. But the old miniatures are looking a bit shabby. This is the first "test" piece for the new incarnation of the team, which will be the next generation of players. This one is one of twin daughters to the old captain/blitzer Jock "the Hammer" Hammerstein: Jacqueline "JacHammer" Hammerstein (the other twin will be Samantha "Sledge" Hammerstein). I still have to add clumps of grass to the base and some more detail (a name and number) on the base itself).

And now a bunch of models you have seen before. Some of the Razorbakz:

The sculpted Ice Vixen:

And the diminutive flings of the White Acre Weed Pullers:

I hope you enjoy them. I'll also put up a pic of another project I've been working on recently... but that's another post.

Da Fetcha - limited ed SSB mini

The Southern Shrike Bowl is a Blood Bowl tournament held every year in the north east of suburban Adelaide, South Australia. It has run three years now and I have attended all three, winning best painted team in '08 and '09 (I missed out by one vote last time).

It is an excellent and enjoyable tournament that has amazing prize support and some novel little prizes that make it really special. An example is the MVP.

Each year coaches vote after each game for the opposing Most Valuable Player (MVP) in a 3, 2, 1 style ranking based on which players played the best during the game. Olaf the Stout, our incredible League Commissioner, then tallies these votes and announces the MVP player. This player is then actually sculpted and cast as a limited edition figure for the next year's event!!!

Last year an orc blitzer (I think) won the title, while the year before it was a human blitzer named Seamus "Hellspawn" O'Reilly from a team called the Grey Mountain Manticores coached by BenSquig. But in the first year the MVP was a player called Da Fetcha from Olaf's own team (he wasn't the Commish at that point and was the first SSB Champion), Da Vermin Hunterz.

Because I loved the idea so much I decided to paint my Fetcha up as a special display piece, and here he is:

I apologise that the pics aren't of amazing quality, and he is looking a touch dusty at the moment, but I think you'll get the idea. I hope to do up my Hellspawn in the same way at some point during the year and, likewise, each MVP thereafter.

Razorbakz #3 - Blocker Five

And here he is! The finished version in all his glory.

Phew! That took a while, but I'm extremely happy with how this one has turned out. For a few years now, while I've been struggling to find time to paint, I've been feeling as if I'd completely lost touch with the leaders in miniature painting and, while I know I still have a loooooong way to go to catch many of them, this miniature has given me hope that I'm at least amongst some of the stragglers from the breakaway pack!

Anyway, I do like him and I hope you do too. The CMON link, if you're inclined to vote, is http://www.coolminiornot.com/266773

First a standard frontal view:

 And the back:

Some detail of the face:

And of the armour plates on his forearms:

Finally, a better view of the armour plates on his chest and legs:

I'd love to know what you think about him (and any of my other models). Please feel free to leave a comment.

Razorbakz #2

I also thought I'd quickly put this WIP up of the second member of this team, as the skin took me absolutely forever to get done. This team will take some time to finish, but it will be awesome when it is done!

With this guy I will be doing a mixture of yellow armour plates and some with a chequered black and white pattern. Should look quite impressive and I can't wait to finish him off, I just wish there were a few more hours in each day.

The Razorbakz #1

As previously stated, my big passion, especially at the moment, is Blood Bowl. I have several teams on the go at the moment but, surprisingly, one has really taken my fancy. This is the Neomics orc team, which I won from Southern Shrike Bowl 09 (where I won best painted team).

I already have a fully painted orc team, and I need to get a human and wood elf team finished for next March, but despite myself these Neomics figures have me continually coming back to them.

So I succumbed and undercoacted a couple, then one day just decided the paint one. This is the result:

CMON link: http://www.coolminiornot.com/266158

I'm really proud of this guy. I wanted to achieve two specific things above all else and both, I think, came out.

The first was a really bright yellow with some decent shading. The picture actually mutes it a little, but you can still see it.

The other was some nuance and character in the orc skin tones. I've used elf flesh as the main highlight (over the ubiquitous goblin green) with a darker Formula P3 green (Gnarls?) as the main shade, but I've also added some blue (particularly under and around the eyes).

To make the ensemble I think the white and black have worked really well. White is no big deal but black, for some strange reason, is the one colour that I have so much trouble painting well (anyone have any tips?)!

So he is number one (well, OK, number 9, but you get the picture) of, I hope, a whole team to this standard. Already on my painting desk is another, beefier, orc model who is daring me to paint him. I'd like to try and get some armour plates of a chequered white/black pattern into some of the team (the above model didn't have enough armour plates to do this). We'll see though, I might just like the yellow too much!