So this post with be a bit more diary entry than usual.
I'm on holiday from work so thought it was high time I did some of the things I've been wanting to, and meaning to do, for months now.
One of which was start blogging again.
Not only as a means of expression, but to motivate me to get things done.
This is especially true of The Cardboard Cartographer.
I'd built up a little corner of the internet for it, and then shamefully let it rot...
I totally needed the break, so it's not something I'm going to hate myself for... I just wish I had more time, resources and hands to do these things.
I've tried enlisting folk to help out, but it never sticks, which is a shame.
The new one issue a month work schedule should ease the load on this one, and I hope I can get it up and running again sooner rather than later!
Another thing I've wanted to do for a long, long time is Youtube and the like.
I spent a great deal of time researching how to record and edit video and audio so I could do this stuff.
Yet I never got round to actually doing anything
Something has always held me back.
Fear
Fear of not being entertaining enough on my own.
I had originally intended to do this with someone else, but they bailed on me when we were all set to go.
We I'd spent a good while working on various assets for the show, but we never got started.
I still really want to do this kind of stuff, and have friends who want to do it too.
But only I seem to be willing to put the hours in to actually research, set up, do admin, organise and actually record, edit and post anything.
So as a result nothing has really happened.
I did set up my own channel, which I've posted about before.
But that fear of not being good enough on my own has stopped me from doing anything.
Still, at least I've got my own stuff set up for it.
I've had enough of that fear though.
I want to push forward, and if people come with me, awesome, and if they don't, that's okay too.
So, here I am, working on several thousand projects at once and trying to have the energy to fight of the apathy that comes form being overwhelmed.
To this end I've tried to reinvigorate myself by starting with something that takes a little less maintenance and set up, and that is Twitch.
I finally got my head round Twitch and OBS thanks to a little help from my friend Shamus and some googling.
I got to re use all my YouTube assets and artwork, so it almost looks like a real thing!
There is some tweaking to be done for sure, but I'm working on it.
I'll be giving streaming a go once I've worked out said kinks, even if it is only a hobby stream where I sit and build & paint models for an hour.
I mean, I'd be doing that anyway, so why not share it, right?
Anyway, that's all for now.
Links to all the new stuff will be added to the side bars, or you can head to my Twitch profile by clicking here!
If you want to follow what I do and when, then hit me up on Twitter @DarKHaZZl3
Peace!
-DH-
I know. it has been a long time since an update across all of my blogs.
I can make all the excuses in the world, but I just haven't made the time I should for this, or any of my other blogs.
That's going to change...hopefully.
I want to get back to weekly updates, even if they end up being diary like entries again.
I've alreayd made a start here, and over at The Underhive Hero where I've posted baout my Lizardmen Bloodbowl team!
Back to the task at hand....
Today I have something new!
If you follow my Instagram this will not be that new too you, but if you don't then enjoy!
A while back I posted an update about my completed Kirby Amiiibo in semi tribute to Ross from GameGrumps/ Steam Train.
Well, I thought it was time for more custom Amiiibo work.
This time round it is a Dr Mario repaint.
On the now rare occasion me and my brother play Super Smash Brothers (especially Melee) with each other we always end up having a final showdown between our two best characters; Marth being mine (despite Jigglypuff being my favorite), and Dr Mario being my brothers.
It is his birthday in a few days, so as well as something practical, I thought I'd get him something a little more unique, personally and thoughtful.
Also, it gave me an excuse to customise another Amiibo!
My brother always play Dr Mario wearing his black costume;
So naturally that is what I set out to do.
One session in and here we are!
All of the Dr's coat is done, the shirt and time are fine too.
A pretty simple paint job in all honesty, and just using citadel paints (Abbadon Black, Mechanicus standard Grey, Mephiston Red and Evil Sunz Scarlet), and a bit of satin varnish between layers to help it stick to the figure.
I just need to do a little more work on the boots, legs and the head in general, but it's a good start!
If you're interested in my work, then feel free to leave me a comment, hit me up on Twitter or, if you want to see what I'm working on sooner rather than later, then follow me on Instagram.
Just for the record, I'm totally down to do commission work ;)
Anyway, that is all for now.
Hopefully this will see more regular updates, along with my other blogs, so stay tuned!
Peace Out.
-DH-
It has been a while, I know.
I can't say I've had a lot going on in my life, but it does seem to get on top of me.
The Cardboard Cartographer has taken a sabbatical until I feel like the time is right to re-start it.
I think the every two weeks schedule was killing me joy wise.
I'm also thinking about bringing a friend in to help me out with the playing games side of things...
Also, I finally went and set up a youtube channel.
It is mainly for research... eventually I want a multi person channel playing games of all varieties.
Time will tell on that one.
If you want to watch my latest project evolve then head to my YouTube channel.
I don't have my own URL yet, but in time who knows?
That's all for now.
I'll try to get some more updates in soon....
I have been working on several projects, I just haven't been posting about them.
Until next time
-DH-
Nope, not actually award winning, just finished.
Check the not so great pictures out!
If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I've actually done a lot more on the Mice and Mystics models.
I just haven't got round to posting them.
I've also done a fair amount of work on my Lizardmen Bloodbowl/ Age of Sigmar stuff, which you can see over on The Underhive Hero.
I'll be getting back into posting a bit more regularly now I'm settling in to my job, and now I've passed my driving test, so watch this space (and my others too)!
See y'all soon
-DH-
Sorry for the delay guys, I have been mega busy.
I've been working on The Cardboard Cartographer.
Recently I posted issue 10 about the Spiel des Jahres winner Colt Express, so go check it out.
Also, I have a new job!
Firstly, this had kind of messed around with my days off and such.
Secondly, it involves painting miniatures, so doing it a lot a home might burn me out a little.
I'm taking my time with my personal projects so I can enjoy them.
With that said I have got some progress on the Mice and Mystics models.
I decided to split the remaining models into little, more manageable groups.
So to start with I worked on Colin and Lily
At this point Colin was almost finished, but Lily had a fair way to go.
But after some work, and a lot of touch us later...
So here is the completed Colin
Front
Back
Lily
Front
Back
And a couple of action shots with the centipede
So those guys are done!
On to the rest!
If you're enjoying this project leave a comment, hit me up @DarkHaZZl3 on Twitter, or check out my instagram where I tend to post things as I do them.
So, you know. Spoilers!
Peace out!
-DH-
I know in the previous post I was talking about smashing out the project... and then nothing.
Well, the UK Games Expo happened. That took a whole lot of my time.
You can check out my write up in issue 7 of The Cardboard Cartographer.
Anyway, in the last few days I've been back on the painting hype.
So without further adieu.
I've done a lot of work on the Spider mob miniature.
If you google tarantula this is pretty much one of the first ones that comes up.
I can't say I enjoyed the spider to be honest.
Theoretically, a tarantula would have enough detail to pick out, with the hairs and such, but this model just doesn't.
The hair is not raised enough to be picked up well with drybrushing, so all of the detail I've done is freehand.
Another area I didn't enjoy painting was the legs. They simple don't match symmetrically. Which is absurd.
The fangs and read stinger/ web thing was done with Tamiya clear green to give it a sickly shine.
Moving away from the enemies, and on to the good guys.
These are the miniatures you really want to stand out
With most miniatures the face is the focal point, however, as these miniatures need to be easily distinguishable at a distance.
To this end I've spent a lot of time focusing on their largest area of difference; their clothes.
When you look at the character cards most of the characters in mice and Mystics the clothes are distinctly different colours.
The red Cape; Colin, green cloak; Lily and white habit; Tilda are all visual distinct from a distance without anything extra being required.
Filch, Maginos and Nez are all shades of brown.
Filch has a hood, and as such that will provide him with a dark brown overall appearance.
Nex only wear a set of blacksmiths armour, so his unique colour will be his fur which is grey.
Maginos the mage is a little of both. Like Flich his cloth s are brown, but like Nez has an uncovered head. However, Maginos has a much lighter appearance due to having lighter fur.
I think these factors will ensure that these three characters will be visually distinct from each other. We'll see.
So yeah, it might not seem like a lot of work, but there is an absolute ton of laying on the cloths, especially on the brighter colours.
Anyway, that is all for now.
If you're enjoying this project leave a comment, hit me up @DarkHaZZl3 on Twitter, or check out my instagram where I tend to post things as I do them.
So, you know. Spoilers!
That is all for now.
Peace!
-DH-
So, those of you who follow my hobby progress on The Underhive Hero or The Bolter and Chainsword will know I've been doing a fair amount of painting recently (for me at least).
I also mentioned that I've been working on painting up the Miniatures that are included in the Mice and Mystics board game.
The first time I ever played Mice and Mystics I always thought the game would be much more engaging if the miniatures were more visually distinct.
I mean, the miniatures from this game look pretty awesome; the plastic is a bit rubbery for my liking, but it does the job well enough.
The models were of good quality, but they were all beige which made it difficult to pick out the player characters at a glance.
It is to this end that I decided to give them custom paint jobs.
I thought I'd share my progress with you.
First step was was to clean up the models.
Here the hobbyist in me really comes to the fore.
A pet hate of a lot of hobbyists is mold lines and gaps
It isn't really a huge issue, but as you might well know if you do follow my hobby endeavors, is something that bugs me.
So, I used my hobby file and craft knife to tidy up the mold lines that I could; a task made more difficult than it should have been by the soft rubbery plastic used to make the miniatures.
I then proceeded to fill in the gaps.
To fill gaps I use a material called 'green stuff.'
It is a two part part epoxy resin that is malleable when mixed, but becomes hard and waterproof when it has cured..
I also add another two part resin called 'magic sculpt.' This makes it a bit more workable and at the same time reduces the curing time.
I do this in a 1:1:1:1 ratio
While most of the work is just filling and smooth gaps, there is a little sculpting required.
Seeing as I intend to go the whole hog with this, I also decided to add some sand to the bases, to give them a little texture.
Then it is time for the black undercoat.
The next step I did was to paint on a dark grey 'guide coat.'
This helps me to pick out any of the details.
That is all for now.
I'm enjoying painting this project so far, but like all painting projects, it is extremely time consuming.
If you have any questions about the modeling, sculpting or painting progress then feel free to drop me a comment or hit me up @DarkHaZZl3 on Twitter.
Also, follow me on Instagram for sneak peaks and other general stuff!
Peace out!
-DH-
I finished my Rubber Ross inspired Kirby Amiibo project!
It was just a case of adding a final layer of blue to the shoes, covering up any slip ups on the body and defining the mouth.
Also, scraping the the paint of the base. Note to self: More masking tape next time.
It was all finished off with a coat of satin spray varnish (purity seal)
You can check out the whole project from start to finish in pictures over on my Flickr account.
All constructive feedback welcome!
If you'd like to know anything about the project then feel free to get in touch.
Also, if you have any custom Amiibo's you'd like me to do, then throw a suggestion/ request at me.
Either way drop me a comment, or tweet me @DarkHaZZl3
That is all for now.
Check back for more projects, both old and new coming soon.
Peace
-DH-
