In this step-by-step tutorial I’m going to show you how to create gravestones. Please treat this article more like an inspiration, rather than tutorial.
I recently started collecting Guildball and decided to create graveyard themed bases for my Mortician’s. In the miniatures world gravestones are a rare bitz to come across. Sure there are some graveyard themed miniatures sets but getting them just for the sake of gravestones seem like a ludicrous idea – at least for me. Cuz why not just make your own? It is pretty simple you know…
Before we get into it, let’s talk all the charms, decorative beads and bronze gears. Ever heard of Aliexpress? Just search for “decorative charms bronze” and prepare yourself for a mind blowing experience – cause miniatures modelling would never be the same from now on…
Step one: Cutting plasticard
Using a hobby knife I cut 2mm plasticard into pieces of more or less gravestone size and shape.
Step two: Applying texture
I then “textured” each gravestone with a rock. I know how it sounds, but yeah – I simply rock’n’rolled on top of the plasticard to create an uneven texture.
Step three: Detail
With basic gravestones done I added some detail. I glued plasticard and some of the bronze charms on top and on the sides.
Good to know: Bronze charms are easy to work with. They can be broken into smaller pieces with tweezers and just a bit of force.
Well… that’s all. Job done! That was easy, wasn’t it? Plus it costed barely couple bucks for an entire graveyard worth of material! Not that I need as much 😛
Now just waiting for all the Mortician’s to show up. Can’t wait to get these painted!
You find this article helpful? Don’t be a stranger and drop me a comment below!
A short follow-up to my recent “Review: Guild Ball Legacy Collection (Resin) Mortician’s“.
As it turns out some companies are not afraid of constructive criticism. Steamdforged Games impressed me greatly with how professional, open and fast to act they are. More so – I was invited to join SFG Media Network to get access to some review copies! This (kind of) blew my mind!
Today a package filled with review goodies arrived at my doorsteps. Inside was an Organised Play Set (with a miniature) and some cool looking merch. I’m not an authority when it comes to merch, but the fanboy in me squirmed with joy while I went through all the stuff doing my best to assess quality.
Overall merch is really great. I mean – it’s merch – being great is the point of it. I especially like the patch: top notch quality with smooth, rounded edges and solid 3d depth. Adhesive at the back is something I’ve never encountered before and seem like a great solution, allowing for use on plastic cases and carry boxes. Metal pins are my second fav. Design is great, but what impressed the “quality freak” in me the most was the back, which shows how SFG takes great care about their products. I love it.
All that being said, now’s time for Resin quality review, as this is the actual follow-up to the previous review.
On top of dope dice, metal coins and some other interresting stuff the Organised Play Set contains a resin miniature. I wasn’t sure what to expect (or better to say – coming from a biased standpoint I didn’t expected much). As it happens, this time quality is very good to say the least.
I have no issues with the miniature – it looks great!
Now I look forward to Mortician’s quality revamp and have full confidence that SFG can pull this off.
Wet Palette – a hobby tool every or at least a vast majority of pro painters has. A Wet Palette is simply a piece of parchment sitting on a wet sponge that keeps your paints thin and allows you to “save” a certain colour mix to go back to without the necessity to mix the paints anew in hope to achieve same results. In this article I will show you how to make your own Wet Palette.
Picking a right box for the job is very important. For best results it should be hermetic, rather shallow and as wide and long as you prefer. I know a very good painter who uses a Ferrero Rocher box, I preffer to use a more hermetic and smaller Games Workshop Turf box. It suits my needs better, as I don’t use Wet Palette too often. Either way…
Step one:
I measured the insides of my box of choice and cut a piece of kitchen sponge to be approximately 5mm smaller. This is to leave some space for a sponge that might grow a bit once filled with water.
Step two:
Next I cut a piece of baking paper to fit the sponge, again leaving about 5mm space between the edge of the sponge and the paper itself.
Step three:
I filled the “palette” with water until the sponge couldn’t take anymore. The key is to avoid water outside the sponge.
Step four:
I then put a piece of baking paper on top of the sponge and held it in place, so that it took a little bit of water and flattened. That’s actually it – Wet Palette complete and ready for action!
Now I can “save” the paints for later use…
Important tip: You will be switching the piece of baking paper every now and then, but I advise you to occasionally switch the sponge too. Depending on what kind of soft sponge you’ll use it might get smelly after long use. It’s because nowadays kitchen sponges are made out of algae and similar organic material. Just saying 😉
You find this article helpful? Don’t be a stranger and drop me a comment below!
I’ve been a miniatures collector and hobbyist for over twenty years now. Naturally every now and then I find a game or miniatures range that instantly makes me wanna pick a faction and get everything that’s available! This is what I usually do: I go all in. Steamforged Games Guild Ball was not so different.
Initially I had a brief encounter with the game, painted a small commission and observed how miniatures range evolves throughout the years. Once I felt like seeking out a new game to play – Guild Ball was there and Mortician’s guild was ready to take me in with two brand new Legacy Collection resin sets. (Strings of the Spirit Weaver & The Master of Puppets). Miniatures looked dope, community was strong, game was fun – my hype skyrocketed and I ordered both sets…
When boxes arrived I was very impressed with the way Legacy Collection is packed. Two matt & grainy hard paper boxes with shining Steamforged Games logos. Damn, I almost got a boner!
The charm abruptly ended once I sorted out the miniatures and took a close look. Words can’t describe my shock. Just take a look at these pictures:
Please bare with me on this: On top of my hobby history I also worked in a hobby store for straight ten years. I get that in mass productions shit sometimes happens. Still the sheer amount of fuckup in both sets was quite overwhelming.
What I did was sort out miscast garbage from miniatures that I could hope to salvage. To be fair all the miniatures bared some sort of defect or damage but upon thorough examination I decided I was capable of repairing some of them. I started to work on about half and placed a Complaint ticket using Steamforged Games “Submit a request” online form for the rest.
To sum up quality: It varies between miniatures. All have prominent mold lines and tiny holes. Some texture is rough, some is unnaturally corrugated. Miniatures, including bases bare marks of inaccurate filing. Bases come with deformed edge. Pieces does not fit one another… it is really bad.
Steamforged Games pictures promise stunning miniatures with a lot of detail. Unfortunately it couldn’t be further away from truth. Although the overall design and thus renders are breathtaking, the end product does not reflect the quality.
On top of all the fugly texture distortion, mold lines, missing detail – some miniatures are simply different than depicted at the website. In all fairness I simply cannot appreciate visual aspect of these sets when on top of bad quality there’s an obvious downgrade in comparison to what was depicted by the producer.
Functionality is very important to me both as a hobbyist and as a gamer. As a hobbyist I prefer material that is easy to work with and does not add obstacles between me and finished paint job. As a gamer I like my miniatures to be durable and designed in a way to prevent some obvious damage. Steamforge Games Legacy Collection is the opposite. Resin is very soft which makes it difficult to remove mold lines. Using a file or a hobby knife leaves tiny gum-like hair which makes it impossible to achieve smooth texture where previously mold lines have been. Miniatures were not properly designed for use of this material which resulted in some weapons being paper thin, flexible and easy to break (some even arrived broken to begin with) and impossible to repair. Pieces does not fit one another. Mold line reserve is put on some vital detail (like faces!). This set is a hell to work with both in terms of necessary time consumption and being unable to 100% properly prepare the miniatures…
…and it all comes at a rather ludicrous price of 70€ per set. 140€ total for 17 miniatures and two “balls” would make you think that quality be at least around “ok”. In the meantime Corvus Belli sells a set of 14 highly detailed, top quality metal miniatures for less than 90€!
…My complaint was processed and I got a reply that although miniatures that differentiate from the picture will not be replaced, all the damaged/miscast miniatures will be dealt with in approximate two months.
I decided it is only fair to wait patiently and not review the product before replacements arrive.
They did, three and a half month later. First of all not all the damaged/miscast miniatures got replaced. Secondly, the ones that did, were the final push thus here I am, third hour of preparing this review so that hopefully no one else would end up disappointed and powerless as I am right now.
To wrap things up these two Guild Ball Legacy Collection (resin) sets are one of my worst hobby related experiences of all time. Games Workshop’s “finecast”, Wizzards of the Coast resin – Nothing compares. On a scale where 10 is awesome, 8 is good, 6 is ok, 5 is mediocre, 3 is bad and I don’t want to even mention 1 – I feel like not wanting to mention Steamforged Gamnes product. I’m writing this review as a warning to all these hyped hobbyists that see a cool looking picture and expect miniatures to follow up on it. What the fuck Steamforged Games? What the fuckeedy fuck?!
If you don’t want to get triggered like me – I suggest avoiding Steamforged Games Guild Ball Legacy Collection (resin) series and instead supporting your favorite game with purchase of metal/board game plastic series via Steamforge Games store or better – a local hobby store.
You think I overreacted? Or maybe you think my wrath is justified? Let me know in the comments below or at Facebook.
Here are some Colour Recipes for Haqqislam from Gallery: Shadespire Stormsire’s Cursebreakers. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
TURQUISE clothes:
Coal Black (P3), *
Turquise (Val), *
Mix Turquise (Val) 2:1 White, *
Arcane Blue (P3), l&p
METAL armour:
See: Tutorial: Painting “Five Layers” Metal
Warplock Bronze (GW),
Gun Metal (AP), flbr
Shining Metal (AP), flbr
Strong Tone Ink (AP),
Shining Metal (AP), l&p
GREEN light:
Duck Egg Green (Val),*
Light Livery Green (Val),
Waywatcher Green (GW),
Off White (Val), l&p
Grey handles:
Panzer Dark Grey (Val),
Fenrisian Grey (GW),
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
Off White (Val), l&p
BASES:
Medium Sea Grey (Val), *
Light Grey (Val)*,
Pale Grey (Val),*
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Off White (Val), l&p
Dirt (Val), bl
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP), bl
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Colour Recipes for Haqqislam from Gallery: Tau XV95 Ghostkeel. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
CAMO pattern:
Castellan Green (GW),*
[Painting tape masking]
Elysian Green (GW)*
HEX pattern:
Mix Sand Yellow (Val 1) 4:1 Bonewhite (Val a),*
INNER mesh:
Earth (Val a), *
Sand Yellow (Val a), *
European Dust (Val),
Flayed One Flesh (GW), l&p
Light Brown (Val a), *
BLUE LIGHT:
Light Sea Blue (Val a), *
White (Val a), *
White, l&p
Guilliman Blue GW), glaze
Gloss Varnish,
CACTUS:
Camo Green (GW), *
Camo Green (GW), fltbr
Mix Camo Green (GW) 2:1 Pale Wych Flesh (GW), fltbr
CACTUS Blossom:
Warlord Purple (Val),
Squid Pink (Val), fltbr
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Hope you’re ready for another round of Brush Clash! I feel like I’ve misjudged Winsor & Newton Series 7 the last time, thus I have decided to throw it into the paint stained arena once more, this time against Games Workshop’s Artificer Layer!
For the purpose of this clash I used a highly detailed Avatar of Sokar metal miniature from Reaper Miniatures. The Avatar was painted almost exclusively using both brushes with an exception of couple base layers.
Throughout the test both the Winsor & Newtor Series 7 ‘0’ and Games Workshop Artificer Layer ‘XS’ performed perfectly. Tips held their shape, hair kept being nicely springy, not being too firm at the middle.
Winsor & Newtor Series 7 ‘0’ is the cheaper of the pair. The price difference is about 25%. Buying this brush you can be sure of Winsor & Newton’s top quality, further assured by this company flawless reputation.
Games Workshop Artificer Layer ‘XS’ seem to hold up to W&N’s Series 7. Even though I distrust Games Workshop I fully recommend this brush to you. The quality is on par with W&N and both brushes seem to be made with same hair. What makes Artificer Layer special is the black Ferrule, that allows for easier identification when digging through a cup full of brushes in search of that important ‘0’. For me this feature is a life changer.
Aside of the brand new Brush Clash pair, I’ve been using another pair for the last year. Both brands performed perfectly, whereas Tamiya, Davinci, Kolibri and many other brushes got annihilated due to sheer number of projects I was involved in. We’re talking hundreds of miniatures that both GW Artificer Layer ‘XS’ and W&N Series 7 ‘0’ got through more or less unscathed. I grew attached to both brushes with just a slight incline towards Artificer Layer, due to it’s black Ferrule. That’s why I keep the more important XS of the GW brand, while W&N covers all the other sizes.
All that being said, there’s just no way for me to judge which of these fine brushes is superior when it comes to performance. Both have fought well and I hold them in high regard. The combined might of these two brushes can take on any miniature!
Let me know which of these two you find more appealing!
Brushes, paints, even entire hobby desks – they come and go. It doesn’t matter how much I like particular pot of paint or a hobby tool. At some point everything gets old and I simply got used to part ways with almost every hobby related item. There has ever been just one friend that stick and grew alongside me throughout the years. I dedicate this article to my fav support teammate. Let’s talk Blu Tack!
Blu Tack is an adhesive, reusable putty-like mass. The most known “original” comes by that name, but you can find different variations of the stuff all over the internet and not all come in traditional blue. It can be used to attach lightweight objects to any dry surfaces, but also as a painting tool.
Spilled paint, toothpicks all over the place, airbrush on the floor in a pool of spilled exhaust waste… not for me. While I drown in righteous fury, punishing miniatures with relentless brush strokes, my friend Blu Tac holds the objective – keeping the surroundings in one piece. Literally…
Once the creative fury abates, allowing me to paint with sniper-like calm, using both precision and cunning – Blu Tack takes the fight to the front line, lending me his strength by pinning targets in place and covering important areas…
Most importantly Blu Tack is like a mythological hero. It doesn’t die, it doesn’t get old. It builds mass with every new batch added to the body. It is a friend that throughout our painting adventure never let me down and always had my back. I know I can count on it, no matter what new challenges we will face next! Blu Tack is love. Blu Tack is god!
Do you know and use Blu Tack in your hobbying, or did you just learned of it through this article? Lemme know in the comments or at Facebook! Cheers!
The idea of introducing cars to my Infinity gaming board is one to haunt me for quite some time now. Many times I found myself in a toy store, standing before a toy car shelf and trying to pick a right car to fit Infinity the Game scale and sci-fi theme. Easy to say that all my efforts were futile, thus I postponed the idea time and time again, slowly loosing hope. This state of things changed drastically just few days ago…
I was visiting the post office, when all of a sudden I saw it! The postal worker was playing with an ideal toy car. Wait!? She wasn’t playing at all! That was a PC Mouse! Imagine my shock, when that realization struck me. Shaped like a car, with lights glowing bright, the PC Mouse was just perfect!
Two days later I was in possession of half a dozen PC Mouse cars. This was where “Infinity Cars” Special Project actually started. After a good look at the cars features I figured that apart of awesome futuristic design, the cars had translucent light covers, black mirrored glass, chrom elements plus some of them had battery powered interior glowing lights. These were key features I wanted to transfer onto final form. I started dismantling the cars to pieces…
It didn’t took long, as parts came off pretty easily. Depending on a car type there were either one or two screws that needed handling, other than that I only needed to pull parts gently for them to come apart.
Every piece being separated, I prepared everything for a proper paint job. I didn’t modify the cars too much. Removed “scroll buttons” and glued in some Warhammer 40k bitz to add Sci-fi looks instead, glued left and right buttons firm, removed “the insides” of cable mouses. Didn’t even bother to strip the paint.
Afterwards the cars got undercoated and soon after I applied a paint job with bright, juicy colours. I decided to keep the paint job simple, with no decals, freehands and other stuff that could have spoiled the perfect shape of these futuristic cars bodies. These are scenery pieces after all, too much is not always same as better.
The “Infinity Cars” are nowe done and I cannot wait to use them in the upcoming games of Infinity. I do hope you like the idea of using PC Mouse as an Infinity scenery piece. If you want to grab your own, just look for “PC Mouse Car” at E-bay or google. In the meantime I invite you tocheck out the “Infinity Cars” Gallery… and tell me what you think in the comments below 😉
Cheers!
Here are some Colour Recipes for Haqqislam from Gallery: Infinity Operation Red Veil. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
MILITARY armour:
Interior Green (Val a),*
Mix Interior Green (Val a) 2:1 Desert Yellow (Val a),*
Mix Interior Green (Val a) 2:1:1 Desert Yellow (Val a), Bonewhite (Val a),*
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Flayed One Flesh (GW), l&p
Off White (Val), l&p
CREEME leather armour:
Mix Olive Drab (Val a) 1:1:1:1 Dark Fleshtone (Val a), Strong Tone Ink (AP), Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Bonewhite (Val a),
Flayed One Flesh (GW), l&p
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
BLACK/GREY outfits & weapons:
Black Undercoat, Mix Black 1:X Panzer DK Grey (Val),
Panzer DK Grey (Val),
Fenrisian Grey (GW),
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Dark Tone Ink (AP)
Fenrisian Grey (GW), blend
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Off White (Val), p
MARTIAN bases:
Cavalry Brown (Val), *
Martian Ironcrust (GW) & Martian Ironearth (GW), texture
Fire Dragon Bright (GW), flbr
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
lobr – loaded brush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
