Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Old West => Topic started by: Elbows on August 30, 2016, 02:02:59 PM
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Finally got up the nerve to attempt some more Old West figures. I've had another ten or so Knuckleduster 32mm's sitting in a bin so I broke some out (some of which I've had primed for months!). More pictures on the blog. These are still the best Old West figures I've ever painted/received. Marvelous figures, sadly the pictures on his web-page don't do them any justice.
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o590/turnstylegames/DSCN2146_zpsfzsefpan.jpg) (http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/turnstylegames/media/DSCN2146_zpsfzsefpan.jpg.html)
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You did them justice. They are very nice.
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Thanks, Tree. My current crop of metal Black Scorpion figures are pretty beat up from constant gaming and conventions. As I complete more Knuckleduster I think I'll strip down and re-base/re-paint the old battle-worn figures. I don't "need" more Cowboy figures honestly, but the Knuckleduster are so damn nice.
I do need some more mounted figures and he's just posted his first mounted figure, so I'm excited (I believe he'll be doing the matched sets, so each mounted figure should represent a foot figure).
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Lovely painting, they look great!
I've got Mysterious Dave Mather and Bob the Bartender (not painted yet), who's the one in the middle?
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Very nice, like you I don't need any more Old West figures but they are very nice. I am very short on mounted figures so will watch those with interest.
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Lovely painting, they look great!
I've got Mysterious Dave Mather and Bob the Bartender (not painted yet), who's the one in the middle?
Guy in the center is Ike Clanton. I'm loving the Tombstone figures as they all match brilliantly to the characters from the film..it's tough not to paint them like them.
(http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/c/cf/Tomb-saac6.jpg/600px-Tomb-saac6.jpg)
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Man, those are some pretty paint jobs. And yes, the Knuckleduster figures are the best ones out there now.
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Thanks, Hentz.
I knew I was painting Cowboys when I found myself lining up a dozen different colours of brown... lol
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Another three. I find that three single miniatures is about all I can manage in an evening, but it's a realistic goal and gives me a start/stop point (about 3-4 hours I'd say).
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o590/turnstylegames/DSCN2159_zpsmwypuwam.jpg) (http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/turnstylegames/media/DSCN2159_zpsmwypuwam.jpg.html)
More pics on the blog.
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Wow! Damn, I wish I could paint like you. Terrific!
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4 hours for three minis of that quality ... that's very good
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Thanks, but that doesn't count the dip...which dries overnight and I finish the bases in the morning (cheating!) lol I've only got another five Knuckleduster figures and then I'll have to order a few more! He's shown off a money grubbing baron (perfect for my Business Tycoon character) and a dynamite wielding prospector (perfect for...the Prospector!) etc. Also, Big Nose Kate and the Mexicans he's just released. Basically I need them all! lol
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Nice work, Elbows, they look great!
:-* :-*
You have, however, gotten me looking at this range, which is not so good.... >:D
;)
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I believe he sells through Caliver books. If they're as reasonable as they are here ($3.50 for a single figure including the base - which I toss) I'd absolutely recommend them. If I acquire enough of them (assuming the range continues) I'll probably field nearly all Knuckleduster in the future. This is odd considering I was hugely unimpressed with Forrest's old hand sculpted figures. I bought a pack and never even bothered priming them. I'd call that a successful turnaround!
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Great painting, Elbows. :-*
I have bought all my Knuckleduster miniatures from Caliver Books, they have a good selection but don't seem to have the full range at the moment.
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Did five more of the wonderful Knuckleduster minis. Sadly when I flat-sprayed them they became gritty/greyed out --- an issue with the humidity I guess. :( Not bad enough to need a re-paint but it definitely took some of the vibrancy out.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/DSCN2263_zpsxnqnpdzr.jpg)
And while I can no longer find the wonderful Gale Force 9 Badlands rocks I stumbled up on a fella who makes rather nice resin hills on eBay. Not cheap (around $30 USD shipped to my house) but very useful. These are definitely wargaming pieces, since all of his different designs have plateaus for easy model placement. I painted this up yesterday. I'll probably try to grab another 2-3 or three eventually.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/NewRock%201_zpsqdtnuvdv.jpg)
My blog has some more pics, and I'm starting to touch up and re-base my older figures (the badly painted ones will get a full re-paint).
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You've done a lovely job on those Knuckledusters!
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Thanks m'lord!
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Ok ... I need these Knuckleduster.
Wonderful paint job on them.
Do you have a size comparison with Artizan, Deadman's hand and Black Scorpion ?
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Don't have any artizan, but I'll put some figures together for a size comparison today (mounted on the same bases). They're definitely taller, but they tend to be more slight/accurate than, say, Black Scorpion who are a bit more "beefy" proportions.
There is a post on my blog which shows off some Conquest indians, the DMH cavalry trooper alongside some Knuckleduster.
http://myminiaturemischief.blogspot.com/2016/03/new-inhabitants-for-drakes-branch.html
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Here are some comparison pictures and notes on scale:
http://myminiaturemischief.blogspot.com/2016/09/old-west-size-comparisons.html
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Very useful. Thank you Sir.
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Lovely painting Elbows, I'm not a fan of "the dip" but you have certainly mastered it :-*
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Thanks, Jeff. As a non-painter...I shall endeavor to use all sorts of foul trickeries and deceipts!
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Two painted, three re-based and touched up.
New Mountain Man from Foundry and Conquest Plains Indian up front - three re-based/fixed Black Scorpion in the rear.
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o590/turnstylegames/DSCN2271_zpsny8jzcxp.jpg) (http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/turnstylegames/media/DSCN2271_zpsny8jzcxp.jpg.html)
After looking at some assembled minis last night I will say that the DMH minis are probably the most slight, followed by a couple of the Conquest Indians (they probably work well together). There are some pretty large size discrepancies in the Conquest Indians, but they're still lovely. Foundry fit all over the place, being large and then having plenty of very slight indians.
Black Scorpion is the largest with Knuckleduster 32's being a bit smaller, but okay fit.
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I find that three single miniatures is about all I can manage in an evening, but it's a realistic goal and gives me a start/stop point (about 3-4 hours I'd say).
No idea how you do that - I need several sessions of that length to finish a single mini :'(
Even when using block-and-wash, I can maybe do one (or two if they are fairly alike) in one afternoon.
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No idea how you do that - I need several sessions of that length to finish a single mini
Same here! Minis looking great BTW.
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To be fair my block painting is exceptionally simple. It can take me longer to do larger creatures etc. But I do average about a figure per hour (not counting the drying and the drybrushing of the base afterward etc.). I watch a movie or two whilst sitting and then I'm good. It helps immensely when the mini is exceptionally easy to paint - the foundry mountain man was excellent.
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I've been doing the army painter block paint and dip for my figs, but yours look a heck of a lot better than mine. What are you using for your dip? And do you actually dip or do you brush it on? And do you do anything else afterwards other than bases and dullcote? Great looking figs!
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I use normal Army Painter dip (though I'd love to find a varnish/stain which works well and is cheaper - I've had very mixed success trying various cans of minwax).
I dip my miniatures entirely (including the base, as I find that wood glue with my basing mixture ...covered with dip = very robust, not much chance of falling off). I use small bent nose pliars and dip the whole thing, then instead of shaking it off as I used to do - I assemble a small stack of paper towel shreds. Holding the miniature still with the pliars I carefull dab away pools of excess.
This works pretty well, however you still have to check after 5 or 10 minutes and look out for large pools which can sometimes ruin the figure. Sometimes I find I have drawn far too much out and the miniature doesn't have any shading left. Only important thing to note is that I prefer hand torn paper towel vs. cut. The shredded fibres pick up dip much easier --- BUT --- after about 5-10 minutes of drying the dip is going to be too tacky to use paper towels on, so sometimes I have to use a small toothpick or something to carefully draw out the excess if it's pooled up in the back of a knee or around a groin or arm or something.
I think if I could shake them vigorously without getting varnish all over the house I might try that again, but I've been happy with the paper towel method. I find brushing it on I get far too many streaks and while I do this for some larger creatures it generally sucks. Once dipped and drawn out I let them sit for at least 8-10 hours (normally over night). I hit the up with matte finish (anti-shine from Army Painter, normally) and then I do the bases.
I have a complete step by step thing on my blog using an Eldar figure:
http://myminiaturemischief.blogspot.com/2016/06/step-by-step-spiders.html
It's the exact same for the Old West guys (albeit primed black and hand painted vs. the spray on armour colours)
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You are the Dip Master
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Some would say...the dip...is my master. :-I lol
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Some more figures finished up.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/Old%20West%20Figures%20J_zpsiekjezfk.jpg)
More of the wonderful Knuckleduster 32mm digital sculpts.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/ExtraOldWest_zpsntkqvw1i.jpg)
Re-basing and touching up battle damage from the Black Scorpion metals from 4-5 years ago.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/Old%20West%20Figures%20H_zpsbaem5afu.jpg)
More touched up Black Scorpion metals. Almost everything has been re-based now except 8-10 minis.
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The dip certainly seems to work for you, the last few shots it is very subtle, very nice.
I tried it once and the figures came out very dark, gritty but dark. :'(
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Loving the chap with the pickax, great character.
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Sometimes my dip is hit or miss. This time (the newest figures) it was a little too thin and didn't really get the coverage I wanted (oh well). Sometimes it's too thick and takes a lot of work to wick away properly. It definitely darkens the minis as you're basically tinting them sepia. Some folks use it like normal washes and dip them early --- then painting over, etc.
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Yes we all see different things when we look at a painted figures. I think I prefer the thinner wash and therefore more subtle shading. Always was a sucker for oil paints and graduated shadow.
But the next figure i see will be three tone acrylics with loads of contrast and I think wow that's just great even though it's totally unrealistic it's still great painting skill
Sorry it's late and I'm rambling :) :)
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Hah, well I need dip thick...because I speed paint and need it to really cover up all of my errors when possible. Much like the heavy use of washes, I need it to seep into corners and crevasses and joins and carefully conceal my haphazard paintmanship. lol
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lol lol lol I am always envious of the guys who use black undercoat for this very reason.
You get a bad edge and it looks like you meant it. I can't see the figure when coated in black so undercoat in white and can never get a good edge. I need gloopy wash obviously.
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Some pictures of my recent tables.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/SNSTable2_zpsegcsttp7.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/PowderforBoots2_zpsvjbbxol9.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/Elbaus/IronSnakeTableNB_zps6ob1rfoq.png)
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Lovely, mate.
Just lovely!
:-* :-*
Makes me want to play some more Old West again soon.
8)
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Love the terrain mat, what one is that? Also the big bridge, I've been after one that size! Did you make it?
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The mat is the 6'x4' "Steppe" pattern mat from Deep Cut Studios in the mousepad material. The bridge is a three piece set I picked up at convention (from Recreation Conflict if I recall). The ends are resin, the center is elongated and made from wood so it would stretch across the river (the provided resin section is half the size). The resin is pretty poor (that super glossy stuff that doesn't like paint) but the bridge is hugely useful.
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Those tables are wonderful. :-* :-*
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Thanks for the info, that mats really good sets the table off nicely
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Thanks. I do think the Steppe mat is fantastic. It's a very versatile pattern. Would fit fine as a grassy field (with a bit too much sun), or desert, etc. It's a really neutral combination of colours/elements.
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In re-basing my older Black Scorpion stuff I decided to strip down the worst of the sculpts and repaint them. I still don't like these that well (definitely spoiled now by Knuckleduster) but I didn't want to bin them. Fresh paint and basing.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j-WOnfqpw5w/WJIjF9IY4aI/AAAAAAAADJk/yaEGycvYJuoF4nh9J2yL3Fh2ZG1LnAECgCLcB/s1600/DSCN2610.JPG)
Also touched up and re-based these (I was tempted to repaint them, as they're quite old/bad, but I'll let them slide)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nZAUHD4b104/WI5VPJxtORI/AAAAAAAADHk/NPJ90fWguPU7FLbFPSzpXkbglX4sFzv5wCLcB/s1600/TownfolkRebased.JPG)
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You are certainly being productive.
I like the way the guy's face has turned out, the one sweeping the floor, he looks like a water colour painting, abstract shades and shapes, I assume it's because you are very talented and not a trick of the dip. ;)
For the bases are you using metal washers or MDF, presumably supergluing, do you peg the feet to the bases and if not, have you had any problems with them coming unglued.
I have just glued my figure on clear PVC bases and an a bit worried about this.
The guys are all looking good and those knuckleduster figures are sweet o_o
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Just using normal Renedra 25mm plastic bases. With the feet properly sanded the metal figures will tear up the plastic before coming off, so I haven't had an issue with them breaking off - though I imagine a drop to the floor from a gaming table might have them pop-off. Haven't had an issue yet.
The town folk didn't get repainted (despite two of them looking like the Corpse Bride!) because they're resin...and one did break a foot coming off of its old base. I friggin' hate resin for the most part, so I just re-based them and moved on.
I've been clearing my painting table - hence the spat of figures I don't like/couldn't be bothered with. Including these three (though I quite like the Foundry figures - I struggle with motivation to paint up these indians). Finished the three today.
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o590/turnstylegames/Indians01_zpscg1rzwdn.jpg) (http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/turnstylegames/media/Indians01_zpscg1rzwdn.jpg.html)