Friday 29 May 2015

53. Custom Paintjob: Mice and Mystics part 2.

I have been smashing out this project so far.

After prepping the models I gave all the heroes a quick base coat to help distinguish them from each other... but as that is pretty dull I'll share with you something a little more interesting.

I spent a great deal of time painting on of the enemy creatures; the centipede.
Some of you may know this already if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter.

Here is the sneak preview I sent out a couple of days ago;



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I continued working on it yesterday, giving the carapace some highlights and detail.


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The bottom half of the second picture is the most true to life in terms of colour and clarity.
The highlights don't jump out with absurd amount of brightness, but they are noticeable at a distance, and look pretty good close up too.

The base is set to match the colour of the tiles in the game, while retaining a bit of a rubble/ lose ground feel.
I think the contrast between grey and brown/ cold and warm colours works quite well.

I'm really happy with how it is turning out so far.

Still a little more to do on this guy.

So, as always, 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!

Ciao.

-DH-

Tuesday 26 May 2015

52. New project: Custom paintjob for Mice and Mystics.

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.



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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.


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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


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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


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While most of the work is just filling and smooth gaps, there is a little sculpting required.


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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.


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Then it is time for the black undercoat.


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The next step I did was to paint on a dark grey 'guide coat.'
This helps me to pick out any of the details.


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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-

Tuesday 19 May 2015

51. Rubber Ross Kirby Amiibo complete!


I finished my Rubber Ross inspired Kirby Amiibo project!

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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-

Thursday 14 May 2015

50. Coasting...


That is a pun.
Something I usually reserve for The Underhive Hero, but seeing how this post is somewhat craft related I think it is fitting.

I've spent a lot of my free time over the last year watching videos on YouTube.
I try to keep up to date on my selected YouTubers shows each day/week and idly trundle through their back catalogs when I'm bored.
This is something I never thought I'd end up doing, but there you have it.

One of these people is a lady who goes by the handle Dodger.
you can check out her two channel here - DexBonus & Press Heart To Continue

One day I stumbled upon this:




I love this idea.
After a bit more trawling I noticed Dodger had previously made another video where she made coasters with maps and tiles too.

I thought this looked like it could be a lot of fun and easily personalised, so I thought I'd give it a go.

After some intense research, I found it near impossible to find reasonably priced wooden...anything in the UK.
So I headed down to a local discount tile warehouse and picked up a few free samples to try the idea out on.

I ordered a Skyrim map from eBay and butchered myself the corner piece.
No one is going to want this piece, so I didn't mind messing it up.

Here is the result;


001 - Coaster prototype

And here it is in use (under a 330ml can of coke) for size comparison;


002 - In use

I think it came out pretty well.
I think in future I'll mess the map up a little more; added scrunching, some tears and burns maybe.... who knows.

Now all I need to do is go and grab a ton of the slate tile I used to make this one and I can have some matching coasters!

Not the biggets update I know, but I've been kept busy of late with the usual stuff.


Issue 5 of The Cardboard Cartographer e-zine is out. A review of Cash and Guns second edition amongst other things awaits on the other side of that link.

I also managed to do some painting! I finally finished my Lamp Posts for my War Gaming board, you can check it out over on The Underhive Hero or my hobby thread on The Bolter and Chainsword.

I've been working on my Dungeons and Dragons campaign with some story writing, adventure planning and lots of sketches and drawings.

I have started to do some research on another 'rant like' post, so if you miss the Political stuff it might well be making a strong comeback. I cannot abide by the state of things currently.

Anyway that's all for now.
Comment, Tweet me @DarkHaZZl3 or ignore this. Whatever floats your boat

-DH-



Friday 8 May 2015

49. Immediate Election Reaction part 1. Voter Turnout.

I might do a more in depth reaction to the election later, but I'm currently far too annoyed.

So for now, enjoy this rant I had earlier today about voter turnout.

The Tories have won.
I can't say I'm happy about the outcome.
Anyone who knows me will know I think this will be devastating for some sections of society (those that are the most vulnerable and in need of support for example).

But that isn't what this post is about.

What disappoints me more is the ignorance fulled stubbornness people showed in not voting in the build up to this election, and as a result, there was a shit turnout, again, when you consider that this is for something that is literally life changing for tens of millions of people.

Remember when people said that their vote 'wont change anything?'

True enough, the Tories won, and that might seem like a run of the mill ordinary outcome.
But their simple, pluralistic majority of seats over the other parties combined is extremely slim, and their majority in terms of total share of the public vote is even more narrow.

With 36.9% share of the vote their majority over Labour is roughly only 6.4% of votes cast.

That is very slim.
Now here is the kicker; 34% of the electorate didn't vote.

That amount of people could have theoretically put any of the top 6 parties (Cons, Labour, Lib Dem, Green, UKIP, SNP) in terms of votes cast with the highest vote share, and depending on the constituencies they voted in, could have made a massive impact in seats won.

Gower for example, was previously a Labour seat, but was taken this time round by the Conservatives BY 27 FUCKING VOTES.

Your vote matters. And with each passing election, it matters more and more.

To those who chose not to vote because 'they don't see the point'; next time round, don't be so fucking ignorant.
Apathy be damned!
Educate yourself, and get out and vote. (and by that, I actually mean go and learn about these things, instead of blindly following the Sun or the Daily Mail or some fucking celebrity).

Pick a party (not a person) that best suits you, you're local community, society at large, or is the least worst, or is in direct opposition with a party you don't like.
If all else fails, spoil your ballot paper. Say; 'I bothered to vote, and you all do not interest me/ are all dicks.'
It is your moral and civic duty. It is important to you, your life and the lives of everyone around you, even if you're too blind to see it.

To everyone who voted, you've (arguably) done your part in giving a shit about the society you live in, and the people around you, regardless of the outcome. Congratulations on not being a grade A cunt.


-DH-


+++ additional +++

I recognise that in any decent society people have the right to make decisions. They have the right to chose.
This is a right that is fundamental for any form of society to function fairly, and constructively and I will defend with every breath I have
That being said, people have the right to chose to do all manner of shitty things, but I don't have to like it, and can think you're a terrible person based on those choices.
So yes, I respect that people have the right to chose, but if they didn't vote, I don't respect them.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

48. Election - Warning. Political views.


Yes. Finally. We get back to politics.

The UK general election  is Thursday the 7th of May 2015.
It is time to decide who you want to run the country for the next five years.

I know a lot of people already vote.
I know a lot of people who do vote do so blindly following party lines.
I know a lot of people who do vote do so based purely on rhetoric.
I know a lot of people who do vote do so based purely on a single flagship policy.

I also know a lot of people who don't vote.
I know a lot of people don't vote because they don't think anything will change.
I know a lot of people don't vote because they feel powerless and without voice.
I know a lot of people don't vote because they don't see the point.

Needless to say, a lot of people are stupid, and to both, I implore you to watch this video


This is no normal election: don't let your voice be taken away
Thinking of not voting?Watch this.
Posted by The Guardian on Tuesday, 5 May 2015



To those that vote;
Use your head. Think for yourself.
Actually read the manifesto's and critically analyse them.
Can 'insert party' deliver these policies? Where will they get x, y and z for a, b and c?
Does their rhetoric match their actions?
Have they followed through with promises in the past? What have they done in power before?
Are the events that happened under their rule actually a result of their involvement, or rather a knock on effect from an older Government?

I'm looking at you Tory bastards.
Deregulating banks and selling off all industry and housing, and then blaming anyone else when the inevitable crash happens and it takes almost a decade to drag ourselves out of it.
And UKIP too.
The common people, the disabled, the migrants, the unemployed... Society at large is your scapegoat and it makes me sick.
The people are not to blame for mistakes made by the people in power, so stop blaming them for the mistakes people like you have been making since time began.
People like you; the people at the top, the people who make all the decision, the people who make the cogs that can cause an international depression happen, turn.



To those that don't;
Wake up.
You're note clever by not participating. Ignorance is not a badge of honour or a defense.

By not participating your starving yourself of one of the few platforms you have.
If you want things to change you have to do something about it.

You.
Every single one of you.

You might not like the parties in your constituency; vote tactically to deny you least favored option, or spoil your ballot paper.
Make it know you wanted to vote but everyone sucks.
Record your displeasure for the parties to actually be able to measure.

Staying at home means your not accounted for.
And for those who think their vote doesn't matter, the sheer amount of people who didn't vote 5 years ago was enough to swing a majority for ANY party.

Think about that.



When you're deciding who to don't forget to think about the people you live with and society at large.
Be constructive and try and change society for the betterment of the people that make it work.

Here is a hint; don't vote for the people who want to control power and hide it greedily from the masses.
Vote for someone that wants to lift society up. All of it.
Don't vote for someone who seeks to fragment society; blaming the meek, the poor, the needy and the afraid.
Vote for someone who seeks to unite us all as a progressive society looking to build a better world for everyone.
Don't vote for someone who, in a time surrounded by global uncertainty and threat, would seek to destroy the most valuable international bonds we have.
Vote for someone who wants to build a global community that works for each other.

Simply put, don't vote right wing.

Left wing/ Center left may be idealist, but without lofty goals, you never achieve anything.
Without investment, you don't grow.
Without trust, you don't form bonds of community.
Without security of mind, body and spirit, you don't have peace.

I'll be candid. I intend to vote Labour, both locally and generally.
I have always voted Labour; not out of some quaint sense of loyalty, but because I believe that Labour have a balance of experience, realism and idealism to take this country forward in our current situation.
If there were a more suitable option, I'd swap any day of the week.
But right now, and for the foreseeable future I'm waving a red flag.

Don't do something stupid. Do something right.
Vote.

-DH-


47. Moar Amiibo stuff!


Yup, I've been doing some more work on my creative projects, namely my Amiibo's.

Most time has been spent on Kirby so far.

So I started with the base layer...


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I know it looks totally odd, but it does get better.

The first layer of light blue;


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And with the 'final' shade of light blue with the cheeks and eyes done.


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I'd like to throw out a thanks to my friend Mike who helped me pick out the paints to paint this guy.
As far as colour selection goes i
t looks pretty sweet.

I know the cheeks are not totally symmetrical which is annoying, and the paint finish is a bit rough due to one too many layers, but that is the purpose of trying these things out.

I know the mistakes I made this time round and how to correct them for the future.

Kirby isn't finished yet mind.
I've just applied a layer of satin varnish before I start work on the feet and then it is on to the touch ups.

I also did a little more work on Pikachu.
I glued the goggles into place and sculpted the straps of the goggles.


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Need to sculpt the buckle, fill in the gaps under the goggles and join the lenses to the straps before I start painting this one up.
Not actually going to change the colour of Pikachu, just paint the headgear so it shouldn't take anywhere near as long as Kirby to paint.

That's all for now.

Let me know what you think in the comments, tweet me  @darkhazzl3 or follow me on instagram @darkhazzl3 where I'll post sporadic updates of whatever I'm doing at the time.

Peace
-DH-