Storm Zone Update

The past few weeks have been consumed with preparation for a business trip (now over) and for Total Confusion 2013. With the convention in the can, I am hoping I can turn my attention back to painting.

Part of my preparation for TotalCon was to help a friend to prepare a demo of Firestorm Armada. We staged it as a reprise of our past Aquan vs. Dindrenzi starter fleet battles, this time sitting on the sidelines and watching while our demo-ees locked horns.

The demo was small, but I think everybody had a good time. Only time will tell if it will lead to an expanded local community.

Lack of Focus

I've been spreading myself a bit thin lately. I have joined several new gaming groups in my area, and I have not withdrawn from any of the ones with which I was already involved. To top it off, I am racing to prepare for this year's Total Confusion, where I will be both playing in games, and also running several events.

A quick glance at my painting station shows all of the projects that have piled up as I lurch from one priority to the next.

My main goal right now is to finish the Firestorm Armada ships you see on the left for TotalCon, as I promised to have them there for a friend's demo game. After that, I want to finish up some of the RPG character models I've been working on. Of course, I also want to paint up a few competition pieces for upcoming events. (One of which has been partially blurred in the picture.)

The good news is that I should have WIP entries for some of the projects before too long. I have high hopes of actually finishing several of them in February.

Cool Stuff for Battletech Fans

If you like Battletech, or at least, like giant mecha, you might be interested in Ironwind Metal's inaugural Kickstarter project. They are trying to raise funds to produce the "Spectral" land-air transformable mechs (LAMs) introduced at the tail end of the Word of Blake story line.

Even if you don't care a wit for the game or for the story, I hope you'll agree that they're an interesting take on the classic transformable mecha concept. You can find out more by visiting them on Kickstarter.

Kickstarter Fullfillment

Last week I received my miniature rewards from the Red Box Miniatures Kickstarter from the fall. I wasn't sure what to expect, but some of the concept art and early work that the sculptor (Tre Manor) was working on looked pretty cool, so I jumped in at a moderate level.

Since I started exploring the wider world of miniatures not tied to major gaming licenses, I am pleased to be able to get these fresh sculpts and get a feel for some of the new stuff on the market.

Finishing Touches

After a brief interruption from my Battletech Wraith project, it is time to fill in the last few details from my Fantasy sword-mage build.

When we last left the project, I had most of the figure painted, but many of the details, including the metal components, the flame were not done. I also had a lot of highlighting left to do on his gauntlets and boots.

Sometimes Close is Good Enough

Well, the Sunday Battletech demo game has come and gone. I managed to get the Wraith fully painted for the event, but I wasn't quite done sealing and basing the figure. Even so, I showed up and played with it, and the game was fun, even if it wound up a bit one-sided after a few lucky hits early on.

I still need to hit the model with an extra layer off Dullcote, and lay down some Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water" along the stream in the middle of the base. Once that's done, I can declare victory and move on to the next thing.

Progress Update

I got some work done on my wraith project over the weekend. I managed to base coat all of the colors for the model, based on a canon Battletech paint scheme. I even started to subtly shade some of the white panels.

The shading is based on the same family of blue paints that I've been using for my NMM projects lately. (Reaper Master Series greyish-blues) With any luck, I'll be able to finish up the shading by Saturday afternoon, and, perhaps, get some color onto the base.