I am done with the Xmarx.com Hanger. I have a small amount of custom work and touch up to do, but here is a small taste of whats to come.
I will release more photos over the next few days.
So I have not updated in a while. It’s not that I lack things to write, its mostly that writing in between the other things can get difficult at times. There lots of stuff going on right now, many of which will make for some good posting so stay tuned.
For tonight, a quick Xmarx hanger update, things are progressing nicely, I’m almost one with the outside of the Hanger, I just need to do a few final details with decals and and then finish the inside.
Here is the latest picture:
I decided to work on a special feature for the hanger tonight as a small side project. This was an experiment to see if I could create a Battletech like LCD screen. I think it turned out nicely.
To make this, I photoshopped together some screenshots from MechWarrior 4 Mercenaries and printed the final graphic to photo paper. I then cut some opaque and transparent plasticard to use as the front and back of the LCD and used some Micro Kristal Klear to glue everything together. I used the Kristal Klear because it drys completely transparent, so if I had accidently got any on the picture it would not be noticeable.
When I’m done painting the hanger, I will probably use a few of these as giant LCD diagnostic displays. I will make a dozen or so based on a couple of different Mech designs. If you look closely, in this one I actually played the game for a bit so that I could get a screenshot of the Atlas after the arms were blown off… It took me an hour to realize that rather than leave the damage to chance, I should just make a custom Mech with no armor on the arms =). I plan on making the Atlas model looking beat up and without the attached arms just like the damage output on the screen. I may need to get some larger scale terrain so I can make these for 28mm screens as well.
This hanger is going to look awesome when I’m done!
Nov 302010
I just got a new Digital Concepts Ps-101 Portable Lighting Studio
This thing is really cool and it’s pretty inexpensive. It came with lights and a nice little backdrop. It should allow me get some great photos of the products I want to photograph and review.
The soft light that is produced from the sides of the studio against the light helps to cut down on shadows in the pictures allowing for closer and more detailed photos.
Nov 282010
Here’s the latest pictures of the Xmarx Hanger project, It’s still very much a work in progress. The final product will probably change quite a bit as I experiment with new techniques, this is the largest model I’ve painted so far and I’ve found that many of the techniques I typically use on smaller structures and Battlemechs need to be adjusted for larger surfaces such as the walls / floor of the hanger.
Really, figuring out how you want the model to look even before your brush hits the paint is the hardest part. My ideas evolve as I go, and I find myself completely revamping the model… Guess that’s the problem with being a perfectionist. It will work out in the end however =) So at this point I am still not sure if I want the model to have windows making it more of a city type structure, this would allow it to match my other sci-fi type buildings. Another option would be to make the hanger to a more fortified structure, filling in the walls with some dark gray or even blackish areas, or I could paint them a specific color based on the clan/house I plan to decal it with. It’s probably going to be House Kurita, so maybe red? Hmm, I may even do one side windows, the other fortified, which could give me more options for photographing and realistic scenarios.
Another decision that I need to make is how to paint the interior. Do I want it a clean / new hanger, or do I want a used and dirty look. I am playing with used and dirty right now, maybe I will buy another which I can paint to be more of a clean, new building. It’s going to require a lot more coats of paint to get this thing looking how I want it, but it’s coming along.
The outside of the Hanger will need some weathering as well. I have some decals from fighting piranha graphics on the way, and I have some decal paper so I can print a larger logo for the roof. I also picked up some Micro Kristal Klear to test out; I’ve read that it can be used for realistic windows so I am going to test it out on some other pieces to see what it can do before I put it on this model.
In other news, I just got a new set of Winsor Newton Series 7 brushes for my birthday so I should be able to up the quality of the painting a bit. Also I may be getting an airbrush for Christmas, that should be a huge help on larger models such as the Hanger, I don’t have any experience with airbrushes yet, but after some online research I’ve concluded that the Paasche Model VL Double Action Airbrush may be ideal for my projects. If anyone has any advice on airbrushes it would be greatly appreciated. I will review both the brushes and Airbrush as I have more experience with them.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Hanger to come soon. I graduate in December so painting / blogging time should increase.
Nov 282010
At first I was a little leery about getting buildings that were not made with resin or pewter, but this stuff is actually really cool.
According to JR; “Drystone is a polymer modified cement for casting detail parts. Drystone is durable and chip resistant and has a PSI of 10,000 as compared to plaster which only has a PSI of 2,000. When painting DO NOT wash and using a primer is not necessary”
I actually washed mine, I’m not sure what the negative consequences of that will be, but they seem to be ok for now. I found that this stuff works great for modifying and adding bullet holes, scrapes, cracks and other textures. A simple pin vice with drill bit can be used to easily add these extra details in minutes. After that I used Citadel Washes to add detail effects. Devlan Mud helped to create a dirty look, Baal Red was used for blood stains (in case I decide to use the pieces for an 6mm zombie attack), Badab Black for weathering, bringing out cracks and bullet/explosion holes, and Thraka green for foliage. Actually, aside from a couple of grey basecoats and the yellow road lines on the bridges, these Drystone pieces are painted entirely from the four inks.
I made the House Kurita decals myself with some decal paper and a normal everyday printer. I think they turned out nice, but I’m considering printing them on a clear background, the print did not hold well and I’m not sure I like the white background showing through on the logos.
The pieces in this image are all from JR Minatures:
#2028 Terra Bridge
#1370 Heavy Weapons Blockhouse 3ea
#1399 6 Story Destroyed Bldg
#1772 Assorted Trees 12pc
I really love these pieces; I think they turned out very well. I will probably pick up some more Drystone products later on.
My son Xander loves to paint.
How many times have you found that while your Battlemech was out punching holes through the cockpits of oncoming combatants, a sneaky second unit popped out of nowhere and began viciously attacking your base? Now you realize you are too far away from the action to get a good shot and your precious resources are completely unprotected! Well, that wouldn’t be an issue if you had some basic missile defense. If you want to take your Battletech game to the next level, consider checking out these Xmarx.com LRM turrets. They are relatively inexpensive and look great on the table. They also really help add a little extra flare to the game.
I painted these models up with some Vallejo paint, the Jade Green was used to give the turrets a Jade Falcon type look. The Jade Falcon logos and the warning sign decals where purchased from Fighting Parana Graphics. The terrain used in these pictures (the hex tiles) is Heroscape terrain, (I got the terrain at salvation army for $5.00!). The Battlemech in the picture is a IWM Warhammer, painted to be a generic Jade Falcon unit.
The vehicle in the pictures are the Xmarx.com tanker truck. I have not had a chance to paint it up yet, but will review it with some more pictures once I do.
Here are some battlefield scenes with some of my older miniatures. I painted these about two years ago. There is not much to tell about how they were painted, this was when I was first learning what dry brushing was. I think if I could redo them now I would spend more time on the dropship, it really needs some sanding and filing to smooth it out. The Draconis Combine color scheme I used for these models was Dark Red with a silver and brown wash; I wanted them to look old and rusty. It worked for me at the time, but I plan to revisit the technique again soon and see if I can improve on the color scheme with my next batch.
In the pictures:
Union Dropship
Jade Hawk
Longbow
Battlemaster
Old school Marauder
#2035 Special Ops HQ
I have been working on this Battle Mech Hanger from Xmarx for about two months, this thing is awesome. The quality of the piece is very good, it looks fantastic. This is definitely not a piece of terrain for anyone without a lot of patients as it has a lot of pieces that all need to be sanded, filed, drilled, leveled, pinned, assembled, etc. The steps involved to get everything put together were pretty intense, but it was worth it. Even unpainted this is one of the finest terrain pieces I own.
Final pictures will be posted after painting is complete.
More pictures here:
XMarxHanger#
