DeepWars and ShadowSea (08-25 Coyotl Warriors)

[Thantsants]

Ah - actually it was Demons of the Deep, another Fighting Fantasy gamebook.

I was inspired to dig it out of the bookshleves after reading this playthrough.

[Timbor]

The whole terrain piece turned out great! It will be a great centerpiece for the game. I'm curious about the aquarium store clam. How much did that one cost? I want to produce the Doom clam but not if the aquarium one is cheap and looks good.

I will post a picture tonight.  I think it was about $9CAD or so.  I know I did not spend more than $10 on it.  It will probably get a drybrush and be added to a base.  Its supposed to be a Tridacna clam, perhaps a T. maxima or T. crocea for those interested.  I was hoping for more of a T. Squamosa look, as they have awesome ridges on their shells:

[Timbor]

As promised, here are some pictures of my Draconid Sea-Demon Shaman:









A very fun miniature to paint, things went more quickly than for my Dagathonan - mostly since I just used block colours rather than patterns.  I gained a new appreciation for blacklining when I was doing the crest.  At first I found the red and ochre did not mix well, but some black ink helped it transition nicely.  I usually forego blacklining, instead relying on my washes and shading to help the colour transition.  I think I will give the blacklining a try more often...

Other than that, my only gripe/suggestion was that this model would be very tricky to assemble well without pinning to the base.  With just one spot on the tail connecting the model, it makes for a nice dynamic pose, but makes it likely to be broken loose without much effort.  It seems nice and stable with a pin though.  Just all part of modelling metal miniatures!

I have a couple more thoughts and pictures on my blog for those interested.

I took some pictures of my aquarium ornament collection so far... will get them posted up tonight as well.

[Timbor]

For Antimatter:  Here is what I have for aquarium ornaments, with a focus on the clam:









The detail on the clam is pretty good, but the mantle is very shiny, which I will have to tone down, as well as perhaps add a few details here and there.  Also, for those with any knowledge of marine invertebrates, the Tridacna clams derive over 90% of their nutrition from photosynthesis, due to symbiotic algae in the mantle (the colourful fleshy tissue hanging out of the shell).  The rest is from filtering particulate matter from the water.  So, to use it as a carnivorous clam requires a certain suspension of disbelief for the well educated 

[beefcake]

Great work. Excellent flesh tones. The base has a brilliant amount of detail on it as well.
 

[Cherno]

I just love those pastel colors. Just masterful. And the little terrain bits make for great cover and of course eyecandy, especially the coral shrubbery (?) and the smoker =)

I'd like to see it all assembled with figures on your gaming mat

Edit: Maybe add a sunken shipwreck too, there must be some out there for cheap! So many possibilities...

[Timbor]

I finished my Clal-Chk scientist a few weeks back, and here are the photos.  I was trying out some settings on my camera, rather than just auto-mode, and it seems to have made the pictures worse.  Maybe I will take more pictures of this guy later... maybe not!  I still have 2 more guys to go from my starter set, but got distracted with some coreheim and historical painting, which I will post later.







a bit more of a writeup on my blog: http://mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca/

Also, in other news DeepWars has been picked up by Cool Mini Or Not, so hopefully that will get some more interest in the game everywhere!

[Timbor]

Life has been quite busy around the Timbor household of late.  That is primarily due to the arrival of a new little goblin, thanks to the hard work of my wife!  The family is well and fine, but it does leave less time for hobby work.

That being said, I managed to finish something fun this week - another piece of scenery for DeepWars!

I was out at my local Petsmart, and they had a bunch of aquarium plants on sale, so I picked up a few for the various DeepWars terrain that has been floating in the back of my mind for some time now.

The Kelp Forest terrain is used in games set in the Shallow Sea environment, and provide cover for your troops while also counting as a difficult terrain (I can imagine a massive tangle of kelp would be hard to navigate if you are not an otter).  These pieces were pretty easy to manage, so it should not be too hard to recreate if you so desire.

To start, here is a nice group shot with some of my Scaly Horde figures hiding amongst the leafy branches.



I made two pretty much identical pieces.  The materials used:

- plastic aquarium plants
- green floral wire
- sand borrowed from nature
- hot glue and PVA glue
- large tree base from 4ground terrain
- a few crystals from Anarchy models
- some craft paint

A couple closeups:







I really like the 4ground tree bases, as the plants are removable for ease of use during gameplay:



So there you have it, I hope you enjoy my latest addition to the DeepWars table I am making!

[Mason]

 

Simply stunning, Timbor!

There are quite a few updates on this project that I have missed.
What a treat it was to catch up with everything.
It all looks amazing so far, your brushwork, choice of colours and scenery all look top drawer.

Well done, mate.
Keep it up!
 

[Cherno]

I love that forest 

[/hippie]

[DeafNala]

As a Fan of unusual settings, I LOVE what you've done with the Kelp Forest & all your other Aquatic Terrain. WONDERFULLY IMAGINATIVE WORK!

[Cherno]

I think the local fish tank supplies owner is also very happy with your project

[Timbor]

Thanks, folks!

I think the local fish tank supplies owner is also very happy with your project

Well, considering how hard and time consuming it would be (and how much worse it would likely look) to make kelp from scratch, I am happy to give them the business.  All told, I think this project only took about 4 hours or so...

[von Lucky]

Inspiring stuff - giving me ideas for Aquanef.

[James Holloway]

This project looks amazing. Undersea terrain is often very hard to get to look right -- somehow the implied lighting looks wrong, as if the piece were under direct sunlight rather than light passing through water -- but your tower looks just perfect.