Black Pit Of Lag

Braetus finished

2010-06-17T17:04:00.001-07:00

Braetus finished, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Braetus in progress

2010-06-17T17:03:00.001-07:00

Braetus in progress, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Bile Thralls

2010-02-07T14:06:00.001-08:00

Bile Thrall Primer, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Starting to paint up some Bile Thralls for Warmachine.

Bile Thrall Basecoat, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step 1. Base coating the flesh aptly enough in PP3 Thrall Flesh.

Glory Hole Dwarven Mine

2009-11-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

this title is why judges guild rules.

Best Nerd Internet Archive Ever

2009-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Check it - more graph paper than you can shake a stick at.

AltEr of EEEEEEEEVIL

2009-08-25T16:43:00.001-07:00

Alter, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I got this terrain on sale. Spell-checker not included.

Word Bearer squad almost done

2009-07-20T16:37:00.001-07:00

Word Bearer squad almost done, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

8 down, a few more to go then I think I will paint an HQ figure as a reward.

Word Bearers, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Here is the aspiring champion/Sgt.

Word Bearer aspiring champion, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Spotted Dick

2009-07-09T17:54:00.001-07:00

Spotted Dick, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

This is what ethnic food looks like in New England.

Standard (word) Bearer

2009-07-09T17:48:00.001-07:00

Standard (word) Bearer, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Standard Bearer, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Got the standard bearer done and a heavy bolter guy. Almost done with champion.
I hit the standard bearer with Armory Matte Clear and he got kind of foggy and gray - I added the arm with the standard after the fog treatment.

German 40k movie

2009-07-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

subtitled version is a torrent somewhere...
and here is the condensed version which is more watchable

half a squad

2009-07-03T19:05:00.001-07:00

half a squad, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

working on champion and standard bearer

Build yer own

2009-06-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

VROOM VROOM

Wild Turkeys from bedroom window

2009-06-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

Wild Turkeys from bedroom window, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

See! I told you!

and then there were two

2009-06-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

and then there were two, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Painting as slowly as I can... actually I have 2 more that are almost done. almost.

Organizers

2009-06-14T08:57:00.001-07:00

Organizers, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Assembled my paint racks - I still have about a dozen that dont fit though... may need another one. I have my drawers for my tools and suppliles. Just about ready to go! VROOM VROOM!

New Painting Table

2009-06-12T19:52:00.001-07:00

New Painting Table, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

New table ready for action - its a member of the UTBY family from IKEA. Now I just need to assemble my paint stands and I'm GOLDEN.

"Moob Killer"

2009-06-06T16:27:00.001-07:00

My new bike - 2009 Specialized Rockhopper. It feels good to ride around though I get winded in about 2 mins. I'm a long way from my old New Jersey towpath form.

Word Bearer Marine

2009-04-06T21:39:00.001-07:00

DSC00057, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Here is the final assembled product - needs a touch up here and there but there is the basic idea. I like the dark red, but maybe some highlights would help.

Now the scope of the problem at hand. I have 72 Chaos Marines, 10 Chosen Chaos Marines, 10 Possessed Chaos Marines, 5 Raptors, 5 Havocs, 5 Terminators, a Demon Prince, a Chaos Sorcerer, over 30 cultists, 2 Chaos lords, Fabious Bile, Khairne the Betrayer, Abbadon the Despoiler, a Land Raider, a Rhino and a Warhound Titan all in need of painting.
Oh. And a Keeper of Secrets and a Dark Apostle conversion I intend to make from an old circa 1988 oop figure.

Clearly I need to pick up speed... (or have Ivan over.)

Oh and I forgot the Defiler and 4 Chaos Spawn. And the Beast of Nurgle. >sigh<

Word Bearers

2009-04-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've begun on my chaos space marine chapter - I'm using the Word Bearers scheme. It looks good to me and I like the fluff that goes with them. Here is the process: I've begun with a new way of doing things... painting unassembled figures. The upside - easier to do detail. The downside - its tricky to paint part of a part and then leave it to dry so you dont smudge. It seems to be working out quite well so far.

Step One: Partial assembly. I'm using Dragon Forge Bases and special order chapter specific shoulder pads for these guys. I'm assembling torsos and arms and priming each part... which means alot of blowing little arms around the newspaper on the porch.

DSC09999, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step Two: Base coating. Im using Games Workshop foundation Mechrite Red. I'm unconvinced about the bolter holster. Seems superfluous and distracting but I may add it yet... we shall see.

DSC00003, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step Three: Painting the base. Im starting with foundation Astronomicon Gray and Adeptus Battlegray.

DSC00005, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

This is followed by a Badab Black ink wash, then a drybrush of more Astronomicon Gray on the flagstones and Graveyard Earth on the rough parts.

DSC00013, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step Four: Painting the figure. I inked all the red with a Baal Red wash to deepen the tone. Then details got picked out in Boltgun Metal, skulls done in Brazen Brass, I had no good yellow so I went with foundation Iyanden Darksun for the flames around the chapter insignia, and finally the chapter skull was done in bleached bone and Commando Khaki. I used Brazen Brass, Tin Bitz and Bolter Metal for the bullets.

DSC00021, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step Five: More inking. I gave the whole thing a wash of Badab Black. The transformation at this point is always remarkable.

DSC00023, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Next up: Assembly, cleaning up details and highlighting. Then it should be done! Way easier than Skaven!

Art from a young Ivan

2009-04-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

Art from a young Ivan, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Circa what 1989?

Plague Monks Done Finally

2009-04-02T18:17:00.001-07:00

Finally finished them - not super thrilled with the banner, but what can you do.

plague monks done, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

and from the side (I really need to make a photo light box for this)

plague monks done side, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I think the next ones up for the Skaven are a unit of plague censer bearers. They are metal for a change of pace. And speaking of a change of pace, I think I'm going to paint something 40k for a bit. (and ouchie.)

rats

2009-03-31T20:57:00.001-07:00

rats, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Almost there - just the standard bearer to go!

Progress

2009-03-28T21:28:00.004-07:00

Used a giant rat from the Skaven sprues to keep Ouchie (aka mr. Jingles company. He's all primed and ready to go.

mr jingles, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Did another round on the Plague Monks - only nails teeth, robe highlights and a final wash left to go...

plague monks, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Well, all that plus black-lining and doing detail work on the command group.

Ouchie assembled

2009-03-24T21:33:00.001-07:00

Ouchie assembled, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Glued up Ouchie and got another 2 monks completely finished tonight - that is the begining of a paint job on a Chaos Cruiser in the background.

First Complete Plague Monk

2009-03-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here he is

first complete monk, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Now the curmudgeons in the audience might say, "NO HE ISNT! HIS BASE LOOKS LIKE CRAP ON TOAST." They would of course be correct, but I have given up completely on deciding how to base these things - so I have turned to a RADICAL technology.

I give you THE RESIN BASE.

resin base, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

These things look much cleaner and seem much easier to paint up and look nice.
The downside - they arent dirt cheap and they are LIGHT, so it would be tricky to weigh them down for top-heavy units like the banner guys. I've tried two companies - one I cant remember the name of - it took forever for them to mail me the one above and another company called DRAGON FORGE that mails stuff out quick and has a much better product. Mind you these are for a future Chaos Space Marine project...

Resin Base 2, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

But I'm thinking of getting their 20mm square bases for the skaven... we shall see.

Ouchie

2009-03-18T19:42:00.001-07:00

Ouchie, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Best figure ever. Lets see how it turns out...

Plague Monk Progress

2009-03-17T21:31:00.001-07:00

Months later I have picked up the Monk project and have made ok progress. I think I'm getting better at batch painting. Here they are post inks but before highlighting, detailing and black-lining - in other words, the hardest part.

Plague monks, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Here is the command - the only two lead minis in the bunch...

Monk Command, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

The highlights on the hoods were done with a blend of Charadon Granite, Rotting Flesh and Snakebite Leather. The ink wash was Devlan Mud.

Off to finish them!

Best Store Ever

2009-02-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

check it

SLO unfairly ignored

2009-02-23T11:28:00.001-08:00

Why arent the urinals at the Maddona Inn on this list? WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?

Why you are fat

2009-02-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

This site helps us as Americans understand why we are fat

Action Prez

2009-02-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

With ninja accessories!

[A Lapp family, Norway] (LOC)

2009-01-09T12:40:00.001-08:00

[A Lapp family, Norway] (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

Awesome picture from the Library of Congress - YURTS IN NORWAY!

Internet Gold

2008-12-30T20:41:00.001-08:00

There is a fan site for everything.
Pale piece of pig ear.

"How stuff works"

2008-11-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

Best article on that site ever.

Plague Monk update

2008-11-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

After a period of heightened stress, I've started up on the monks. Im painting them very basic colors. The robes are getting gretchin green and the hoods are getting charadon granite - both GW base paints.

plague monks assembly line, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Im doing the same skin/fur scheme as the clanrats but I'm washing them with devlan mud instead of ogryn flesh - its more of a dark brown/black instead of the warmer color of the flesh wash.

plague monk prototype nearly done, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Then its just a matter of picking out details, making the hems of the robes dirty etc. One issue I need to resolve is what sort of highlight to use on the hoods. They are too dark as is, but I like them. I will probably go for a brown/gray to bring out the detail in them.

The best flickr group

2008-10-25T12:00:00.001-07:00

ever.

La Pequena Sarah Palin

2008-10-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Plague monks

2008-10-11T18:21:00.001-07:00

I've assembled 20 plague monks and now I'm just figuring out their paint scheme. On first blush, I thought they would be easier than the clanrats. They certainly were easier to assemble... but, now that I'm working with them I see a few issues that are kind of a pain. 1.) they seem to have more flash that needs cleaning up, 2.) they have lots of buboes that need special attention, 3.)I'm worried that the tones one would use with plague monks (greens and gray/blacks)blend together a bit and I would like to introduce a good contrasting color but I'm not sure how.

Plague monks, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

New Game

2008-10-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

This game looks kind of cool. Too bad it isn't a video game that can be played over vast distances.

God Save the Ghee

2008-10-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Skaven champion

2008-09-28T15:28:00.001-07:00

I decided to top off the clanrat regiment with a champion figure. Painting this guy, however, turned the universe upside-down. I discovered a few surprising things about my tastes and habits of painting.

1. Painting a single miniature is more of a tedious pain in the ass than painting a whole regiment.
2. I like the details on the new plastics more than on some of these old metals.
3. Up is down. Black is white.

skaven champ, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Walkin' After Midnight

2008-09-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Best Ebay Figure Auction Copy Ever.

2008-09-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

"GIANT ROLE PLAYING DIVORCE SALE!!!!!!!

My X-husband was a compulsive gamaholic shopper and purchases items on a whim or in bulk and never uses them. It was a status, bragging right thing for him. So he could say to his other gaming friends that he has more or already has it. Since he had no job, I guess I am the sucker who had to pay for all for this stuff. I will be listing all his role playing stuff of Ebay for you to bid on, from all editions of miniatures, D&D, L5R, Paladium, Robotech, Macross, so many that I can't list them all. Please help me get some of my money back."

Shields done

2008-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

In the end it only took about an hour to complete the shield emblems. It seems that if you set up a pattern for something like this you can really pump through them quickly.

shields with emblems, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I've been toying with the idea of doing some minimal black or brown lining on the emblems to make them pop a bit more, but I think that enough is probably enough.

Here is how the unit looks now complete, minus of course the bases.

clanrat unit with shields 1, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I even got the little bastards to fit together with their shields!

clanrat unit with shields 2, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I'm still at a loss on the bases. The O.G. way of doing them in a simple green isn't satisfying me at the moment - I'll have to stew over it some more and then do a bunch of units en masse I suppose. I'm even thinking about getting some of that fancy GW flocking that looks like long grass.

So now on to the next unit. I have lots of options: Poison Wind Globadiers, Plague Censer Bearers, Stormvermin, Night Runners, Gutter Runners, but I think I might just go for the Plague Monks. I have an overwhelming number (40) of them to assemble and paint. But, call me an optimist now, I think they will be easier than the Clanrats...

Warbanner complete

2008-09-21T18:25:00.008-07:00

Finished the banner - started out with a Dheneb Stone basecoat and then just roughly penciled in a design that is an amalgam from GW banners.

banner first steps, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

A quick and dirty freehand got the rat and paw insignia done...

banner second steps, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

...and then a wash of Gryphonne Sepia and some Scorched Brown and Black Ink gave it a well worn look.

banner washed, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I attached it to the pole with zap-a-gap, but was disheartened when the figure wasn't balanced properly and flopped on its face. A quick trip to the garage for a spare washer to glue to the base for support and problem solved.

unit with banner, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Now they just need their shields. I have them painted and washed, they just need their pain-in-the-booty emblems.

shields, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Poles and Shields

2008-09-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

So I have started the finishing touches on the regiment, namely the banner and the shields. I decided to go with the triangle top to the banner and echo it in the shields. It is typically colored white in the fluff, so that is what I went with. The challenge here is that anything Skaven can't be pristine so you have to make the white ratty looking. I put down a base of Khemri Brown foundation paint and then drybrushed on the white.

banner pole in progress, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

From there, I went on to add Brass to the nail heads and black-lined the whole mess so that it looks like the painted boards are separate and nailed together. Not 100% convinced that it is successful but it's good enough for government work.

banner pole, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

The warbanner itself remains to be done... HOWEVER, I have started on the 19 shields I need for the Clanrats. I began with Calthan Brown foundation paint for the wood and Brazen Brass for the rim. I then gave it an ink wash of Talarn Mud and finished it off with some watered down Catachan Green to give it a slightly moldy look.

shield without emblem, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I then freehanded the Skaven emblem in Bubonic Brown with the strategy of building it up in three colors. This makes the process much easier because you can correct your mistakes with the subsequent layers of colors.

shield with emblem step 1, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I followed up with a layer of Bleached Bone and then topped it off with a light layer of White.

shield with emblem step 2, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Painting on the sprue did make the whole process much easier. I was able to snip it off with an exacto knife, give it a quick dab of brass and it was good to go. One final touch was to use brown to cover some white that didn't go exactly where I wanted it.

shield with emblem complete, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Now to do the same thing 20 more times...

Skaven regiment details

2008-09-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Very nearly done with the regiment - just need to detail the musician and standard bearer, paint and attach the shields, paint the banner, and finally figure out a basing color scheme... almost there...

clanrats 1, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Here are a few up close - amazing how much worse miniatures look when you enlarge them photographically. Still, they are at a tabletop standard. I'm mostly happy with them.

Some other views:

clanrats 2, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

clanrats 3, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I've decided not to add the goofy Skaven symbols to the shields and try and do some freehand painting. We shall see how it goes... I've read that the best way to paint lots of shields is to do it on the sprue - so I'll give it a whirl.

banners and shields, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Hackers ensure end is near

2008-09-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

super collider HACKED!!!!!1!

Clanrat Regiment

2008-09-14T20:05:00.001-07:00

Clanrat Regiment, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Almost done with the regiment - need to do some detail work on the muscian and standard bearer (and the standard itself). More detailed pics to follow.

Skaven

2008-09-05T20:23:00.001-07:00

After a long hiatus, I've rediscovered the joy/horror of painting GW minis. The temptation to buy is usually stronger than the impulse to go blind painting. Still, painting is relaxing – doing it alone is not as engaging as it was to do it at a table with pals or breathing radon in the dungeon/basement, but I'm hopeful that others will pick up the brush and show their work via the magic of the internet. The last time I tried to start painting again a few years ago, I bought a Sisters of Battle/Imperial Guard/Witchhunter army, painted two squads and stopped. The intricacies of the models were not a good place to start – now I'm thinking that it's better to build up confidence and a sense of accomplishment when beginning painting. It was with this in mind that I started up a Skaven army project.

The most difficult thing about starting an army is getting the basic scheme down. You would think that with Skaven there wouldn't be too many options to consider, but it turns out there are many ways to paint rat flesh and rat fur… I tried out a few different approaches. I began by painting some Skaven assassins using dark flesh (one of the few paints that hadn't hardened up on me) for the fur and practicing the paint washes on their cloaks. The results were passable for a first attempt.

assasins, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Learning from the assassins but being dissatisfied with the way their skin turned out, I moved on to rat ogres and their handlers. I got myself a set of the new games workshop foundation colors and washes and was able to get what I think is a much better skin effect.

rat ogres, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

rat ogre, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Im using Talarn flesh as a base, followed by Ogryn Flesh ink wash and then highlighted with a 50/50 dark flesh/Elf flesh mix. These new washes are way better than the old inks – they spread the tone more evenly, especially if you water them down just a touch. I should mention that these are the new (relatively speaking) plastic rat ogres. While plastic just sounds wrong to someone who cut their teeth on LEAD figures, I have to say that these new minis are well detailed and fun to paint. I think the hesitation about plastic comes from the old boring "beakie" marines that had no detail, but obviously the process has come a long way in the last 20 years.

From the rat ogres, I moved on to assembling and painting a regiment of 20 clan rats. Putting these fuckers together is a huge pain in the ass – I had seen the complaints about it online but it took experiencing it for myself for me to see the extent of the horror. They don't fit together – their tails hit each other, the shields bump into the next guy, the weapons smack into the next rat, etc. If they are going to make the models so difficult to square they should just be skirmishers. I began with one test subject to get a good scheme down and then have begun to assembly line the regiment in the hopes of completing them soon… I think I will try a regiment of plague monks next. So the system I've set up is Step 1) a quick base coat of scorched brown for the fur

clanrats first color, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step 2) a quick coat of talarn flesh

clanrats second color, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Steps 3) a coat of bolt gun metal on the armor and weapons; step 4) snakebite leather on some of the wrist and weapon wraps; step 5) calthan brown on the leather straps and weapon hafts; step 6) Ogryn flesh wash over the whole body; step 7) devlyn mud wash over the armor and weapons; step 8) highlight the fur with bestial brown. It's amazing how quickly they go from looking like ass to looking presentable.

clanrats with wash, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

Step 9) is really just the process of detailing, black-lining where necessary, picking out the teeth, claws and eyes. The next step is painting and gluing on the shields but I have some notions about what I want to do for that…

clanrats nearly done, originally uploaded by blackpitoflag.

I have yet to paint any of the bases, largely because I'm still not sure what color to use. Flocking the base with grass seems popular with the kids these days, but I think I might just go with a basic green and a highlight of some sort on the gravel I have glued to the bases prior to priming.

From Hudson's Quiz

2008-08-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Your result for The Director Who Films Your Life Test...

Ingmar Bergman

Your film will be 58% romantic, 22% comedy, 44% complex plot, and a $ 41 million budget.

Your life will be portrayed on film as an intense psychological drama, likely with some actresses screaming at the camera (Persona), or maybe a pleasant chess game between the Grim Reaper and a Crusader (The Seventh Seal). This Swedish director's films are intensely scrutinzed and studied in colleges all over the world to this day. This means that most Americans still don't understand his films! Still alive, he released in the U.S. in 2005 his first film in 23 years (Saraband), and he can still take on one more project to make your film biography. If curious, start with his films Wild Strawberries and Smiles of a Summer Night.

Polar Bear Fecal Plume for Ivan

2008-08-19T10:15:00.001-07:00

OLYMPIC MONSTER!

2008-08-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to CNN and their reporting on the plight of former Olympians, I have a new catch phrase.

It is the following, "If that happens, the human monster will be a reality."

I promise to say that at least once per day from now on.