The Law Comes to Town/Table Progress

Yesterday while I was napping I received a box from Outlaw miniature. These minis are minis that have been pre-release before the KS ships. I ordered two sets of Sheriff Ironclad and Marshall McClain one for me and one for DieselDM. These minis are both underbosses for the lawmen faction (Diesel's intended primary faction). A FYI for those that have not been following WWX the mini Mic Ironclad was a model Outlaw made to honor the support of one of the KS backers. He was really active during the KS campaign and they surprised him and the community with this mini. Marshall McClain was a special early release for Gencon.

Ok on to the 2x2 demo table. The other day I showed y'all my first section of mesa rocks. I was pretty happy with it so I decided to test out the paint I had made at Home Depot. After gluing some sand and rock to the mesa it was time to paint.

  I primed it via the airbrush with Vallejo surface primer

After the primer dried I slapped on some of the Home Depot bloodstone clone. Obviously there were some missed sections at that time but they have been filled in since. This was really just a test to see how the color "felt". I'm happy with the base color next step will be drybrushing.

 

Last evening prior to work I jumped in the car and headed over to meet Diesel to give him his new minis and to grab a piece of 2" foam he had sitting around to try and do some tall thin columns for stone. I had already started a new section of mesa rock and was eyeballing the perfect spot for it. I took a couple minutes to rough up the column prior to work and took a quick photo.

 

 

Here is the new column. while I am happy with the mesa texture on it by and large I am not happy with the size/shape for what I was going for. I have since snapped it in ~half and reshaped the top but I am still not in love with it on this piece so will most likely become a stand alone rock. As you can see I have glued down some sand and rocks in preparation for primer. I may make a second attempt at a smaller column for I may just sand over that entire section.

 

 

I took a second to throw what I currently have onto one of the "2x2" boards to get an idea of the landscape. I say 2x2 cause upon further measurement none of the six is actually 2x2. The label at Home Depot said they were 4x2 so I had the gentleman cut them in half and figured we were good to go. It turns out the original pieces were not exactly 4x2 so all the squares were a touch bigger. I gave two of the squares to Diesel and he was going to trim them up for me. As you can see I have two section mostly "mesa'd up"and another stack awaiting the mesa treatment. After that it may be time to hit up the big rock facing to the cave section. I think the table will have enough cover after that but will not know for sure until I try out some games in a month or so. Please remember to vote on the poll at the top right. Thanks

 

Mesa Sytled Rocks First Attempt (kinda)

Last night (this morning actually) I decided to take my first stab at the mesa styled rocks for my demo WWX board. I was doing some laundry and catching up on Dexter when I got a little impatient and said those rocks should be dry enough where's my knife? My first attempt was an epic fail and got thrown out immediately the second attempt was better.

 Here is my "first" attempt

 

 The "good" side

 

 The "not as good" side

 

The little rock section above was all I did last evening. I was feeling pretty OK with the results and decided to play around with a little more today. The plan was to have the section above go on top of a larger flat piece to have a two stepped mesa. After the boy had their first skate lesson I headed to the basement and started carving up the bottom section:

 

Once again had some "good" sections and some "not so good" section but I am OK with the result to try and press on. These are in fact learning pieces so once/if I really get this down this item can go to the FLGS terrain bin or just get relegated to the sidelines.

 Stacked up in their "final" configuration

An enlightened hire hand stops by to check out the progress.

 

I need to glue these section together and lay down some sand and stones to get a final idea on this mesa. As I said this is just a learning process but all in all I'd say an OK first go at terrain. I really want to make sure I feel comfortable with the process and my ability to replicate my results before I start hacking away at the rock facing for the cave wall.  

Venture Into Uncharted Waters

As you may be aware I have been pretty excited about Wild West Exodus and the upcoming delivery of my kickstarter pledge. Seeing as I still have to wait at least a month until my shipment I have decided to try my hand at something completely foreign to me.....a table. Those of you that follow this blog know I am a really big fan of Rob Hawkins' work and have commissioned him for projects on several occasions. I would love to have him build me a custom table but until I win the Powerball that will have to remain a dream. I have decided however to attempt to build the table myself. the inspiration I am using for my table will be this:

Let me get this out of the way right now I have no delusion of grandeur and I am full away that the above photo is the dream outcome not the expected outcome. My plan right now is to do a 2'x2' demo board which can then be used as a section of a 4'x4' table. Here are my concept sketches:

I am still not 100% sure about the interior cave section but I can make that call later on down the road. If I decide to scrap that idea I will rotate the cave wall section of the demo board to an outside edge. If the demo section goes well the next section will be the township and I will be using building from Burn In Designs' welcome to Rock Ridge which can be seen here:  http://www.burnindesigns.net/2012/10/welcome-to-rock-ridge.html I have been in touch with Lathan the owner of Burn In Designs with some question and possibilities of modifications. More on the buildings as more info become available to me.

Ok with my plans bubbling in my head I decided to strike while the iron was hot and headed out to Home Depot.

MDF and foam

Tools and supplies

I had sample size latex paint matched to P3 bloodstone, moldy ochre, and 'jack bone. These color follow Rob's tutorial on his mine table above.

Hot wire cutter

 

When I got a free sec I stuck outside to play around with the wire cutter for the very first time. I cut a few pieces of foam to make the cave wall section of the demo board. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy smoothly this went for me as I have never played around with foam or a wire cutter and wasn't sure if there was a "trick" to it. After the sections were cut I glues them together with liquid nails and sandwiched them between boards of MDF with tools and weights stacked on top to allow the foam to dry appropriately (I hope). I plan to give it wall section at least 24 hours to dry before attempting to carve the face into the mesa styled rocks. Fingers crossed this next step will be as smooth.

 

Issues with WWX Poll/Backer Created Minis

Ok well I am having issues getting the poll set up for my WWX posse. I have six choices listed in the last post but for some reason the poll gadget on blogger will only allow me to poll four questions. When I hit the add question option it just does nothing so I guess I have to cut two from the rotation right from go. I will consolidated the Jesse James into one choice and as much as it pains me drop Geronimo. Please vote which you'd like to see painted first and help me make up my mind.

The other day Outlaw posted the second of their three backer created minis. During the Kickstarter campaign Outlaw had one back decide they wanted to create a mini for the line and would buy one for all backers over a certain level. This was really amazing and the concept art for that mini was really cool. Later on Outlaw announce there would be two other backer created minis for purchase. The sculpts for the later two have now been released and Killingsworth is suppose to be revealed at Duelcon in a few weeks.

While both of these minis are cool I have to say I love the way The Wraith turned out. He is very Frank Castle like and I love the pose. OK enough for now gotta try and grab a nap before work. One again please vote and help me make up my mind.

Please Help: Input Needed

One of my Kickstarter purchases should be shipping in about a month or so and I am looking to get some feedback from y'all. The Kickstrater I am referring to is Wild West Exodus which takes place in an alternate wild west which has sci-fi, fantasy, and steampunk elements. I have been really excited about this project since I first saw it and have a couple local buddies coming along on the journey with me. While I am really excited to get these minis and begin painting I am having one heck of a time deciding where to start. Currently in the game there are 5 factions available: The Union, Outlaws, Warrior Nation, Enlightened, and the Lawmen. I will be receiving elements from all 5 of these factions as part of my Kickstarter pledge. Here are photos of the bosses I am considering building around. I did not include Wyatt Earp of the lawmen as Mickey aka DieselDM is most likely going to start with the lawmen and I didn't pick either boss for the enlightened as Nick only pledged enlightened and will be playing them. Here are my choices

 

UNION

Abe Lincoln of The Union army. He comes available with two sets of arms for different poses but this is the one I will be using hands down. Grant is the other option for Union at this time but Lincoln is just too cool to pass up and will be painted/played before Grant. I am not sure of the direction a Lincoln posse would take at this time.

OUTLAWS

 

 

Here are my current options for outlaw bosses. At the top you have Billy the Kid. He come accompanied by two hired hand bodyguards. If I build a Billy the kid force I think it will be some characters and more basic grunts. Next we have Jesse James. Mr James comes in two sculpts as seen above. The original at the ready pose and the alternate shooting pose. If I do a Jesse James posse it will contain mostly characters I think consisting of his brother Frank and Cole Younger.

 

WARRIOR NATION

 

 

Last but not least we have the Warrior Nation being led by Sitting Bull (wolf) and Geronimo (bear). I am not really sure which direction this posse would take but love both minis.  

 

Ok so there are my choices and I am looking for y'alls help in making a decision(s). I will most likely work on two posses at the same time as I am entertaining the thought of being a deputy (think press ganger) and will need two painted posses for demos. I will be posting a poll for voting (once I figure out how) and will see where we stand in a months time (hopefully when my "little men" arrive.  

 

If you would like to see more of the minis available in the range at launch take a look at http://www.wildwestexodus.com/ and you can see most of the minis in their rendered state and some in their fully painted state.  

The First of Many

Over the next 2-6 week the Cave is expecting multiple packages as many of my Kickstarters are going to start shipping. The include (in expected order) Zombicide season 2, Wild West Exodus, Rivet Wars, and Relic Knights. I cannot decide which I am looking forward to the most but right now I think I am leaning toward WWX seeing as I am thinking about building my own table (more on this later).

While not from a Kickstarter I did received two packages the other while I was napping. Let look at the goodies shall we?

My first box was from Privateer Press and here are the contents:

I haven't unwrapped this beauty yet but as you can tell it is the Butcher3 limited edition box set. I have loved since I picked up black and white copy of Prime a decade ago (good God where does time go). When I saw the new Butcher I had to have him and since I am a sucker for all think "limited edition" or "exclusive" I had to have it.

The rest of the box was a classic mauler, the new Gencon Booze mini (to go with the Kiltlifter and last years minis), and a the web excluse pHaley (more on her at a later date)

My second box was from good Mr Larsen at www.discountgamesinc.com my favorite online retailer. This was part of a pre-order I place about a month back.

Here is a second fell caller, a second thumper crew (for Gunnbjorns theme), and an exemplar errant UA

 

Next up a pretty Menoth battle engine

Last but not least the pre-ordered item: Warmachine: High Command. The only thing that would have been better is Hordes: High Command :) I have been really excited about this game and cannot wait to take it for a test spin. I am trying to line up a game night next week with some buddies to kick the tires and see how she plays. OK that's all for now time to hit the sack. The next few weeks should be really geektastic with all my new toys coming. Updates as they arrive.

Not a Complete Wash

Hey all long time no write. Well August has been a blur and nearly over. I have had very little hobby time between work/family/life in general but as the title states the month has been a total wash. I haven't been able to play much (maybe 2 games this month) but I have been doing a lot of listen/thinkmachine. I have also been playing around with the airbrush a little. Here is the extent of my recent (August) hobby time.

A few months back one of my local guys Les aka Oxyguy asked if I would base coat his Galleon (think I forgot to take photos) with my airbrush. I was more than happy to do it for him as I love using the airbrush and like to help out when I can. When I dropped off the basecoated Galleon another buddy asked if I would mind laying down the blue basecoat on his storm strider and Stormwall. He said he had no time table so I was more than happy to do it. I decided I was going to try and do the shading and highlighting on the blues and not just the basecoat. I figured if I was going to experiment the strider should be my test subject and not the 'wall. Here is the strider in its current state. The photos are a little washed out but I have to say am I pleased with the blues and hope Nick likes them as well. I know he only asked me to paint the blue but I am tempted to finish this guy up as I have enjoyed working on it an want to see it to completion.

I have to get ready for work so that is all for now. When I get a chance I need to go and give the Stormwall the same blue treatment as the strider. Hopefully see y'all soon.