This week we're taking a look at what's on my desk and revisiting the fantasy realms of Freeblades and Ravnica! This week is also a return to commission work for me, as I have spent the last seven days kicking back and... hobbying, on my own model for a change.
In my last post I spent some time detailing the progress I have been making on Kairos, Fateweaver and his exploits on the table top. He was a ton of work, and after what seemed an eternity of basing, washing, highlighting, rebasing, rewashing, and more highlighting, he's finally done! Next week I'll be showing him off in all his chaos glory in a hobby showcase! (The chaos manifestations on his base are a favorite, both goofy and creepy!)
But like I said, this week Kairos will have to wait. We're headed off to the counties of Haradel to add flavor to some stock minis with the simple addition of green stuff modeling epoxy.
First on my desk is a Haradelan militia spearman. I've done this model before for my long-time client Jon C and wanted to give him something different. Taking a look at the model I noticed that his feet/legs could easily be bent into a crouching position. A quick cut to his forward leg and the insertion of a bent pin and his forward foot was reattached. For a lot of projects I've used Gale Force 9's brass pinning set, but for this one I used Privateer Press's Formula P3 pins because they are more pliable. The P3 line also has a selection of super fine pins that are great for fine pinning jobs like resin and small parts/hands/weapons.
With the pin secured and bent to shape I applied a base layer of green stuff to flesh out the leg, giving me a shaped surface to work on.
Allowing that to dry ~30-40 minutes I put another layer on top, one that would give the militia man's pants their final shape. I used the narrow spade tool from the GF9 modeling tool set, another item I picked up from my local store 31st Century Games & Hobbies. (If you are in the area, I highly recommend that you stop in, the owner Joe is in 6 days a week, is open to midnight and is a super nice guy).
Leaving the leg to dry overnight I finished up by adding a strip of green stuff to act as a hem for the MM's tabard and another strip sculpted to clean up the top of his boot.
A few simple steps later and Jon's next MM will be in a defensive crouch, ready to take on a an oncoming charge or launch a devastating thrust up under an opponent's guard!
Another model making a repeat appearance on my desk is this apprentice knight. Last time I did an apprentice knight of Barek (boar aspect). This week's model is an adaptation of that model (minus the goatee and swapping a claymore for the battle axe) and is an apprentice knight if Vidunar (lion aspect). Since the models are so similar I wanted to do a few things that would set them apart in Jon's collection. First I cut out the skull between the knight's feet and bent back his rear leg giving him a striding posture. Next I grabbed a length of green stuff and sculpted him a ponytail. The last additions (not added yet) will be some lengths of ribbon draped about his claymore and arms and a string to tie back his hair.
A model making its way onto my desk for the first time is this Vekul snow beast. The model is pretty basic (a big hairy hominid) with a very yeti-like posture. Abominable snowmen always seem to be a tad on the creepy "I'm gonna grab ya" side and this guy fits that perfectly. To dress the model up a bit I felt like he could use some variation to his smooth body hair. Additions of course hair to his knees, groin, chest, shoulders, head, and back give the model a bit more body and protect the portions of his person that would be most vulnerable to the cold.
I've been hard at work on hobby projects, but I've also been busy slinging spells across the table as well. On many a Friday night I head over to 31st Century to participate in their weekly Magic: the Gathering tournament. Playing cards is a nice way for me to get a few hours of gaming in before or after hobbying with little or no prep needed, play a few hands and its back to the hobby desk. It's also nice to have a low investment activity that I can still nerd out with that doesn't involve models and breaks up the routine.
Anyhow, my card playing status ratcheted up a notch this last Saturday when I won the Return to Ravnica Gamesday event held at 31st with my white/black/green token aggro deck. Among the prizes I walked away with was this spiffy playmat featuring a Nivix Guildmage from the Izzet Guild. I'm an avid enthusiast of illustrative art, especially fantasy illustrations, and the art on this piece is absolutely stunning.
Which brings us to the last part of this week's title. When I started playing cards to take a break from hobby I promised myself I wouldn't play with a playmat (how unnecessary!). But after winning this bad boy I think I'm going to be a convert to the cause and sport my playmate proudly when I sit down to sling some spells!
That's all for this week and what's on my desk, come back next time and I PROMISE (I know I promised it would be this week) that I will show off pics of the completed Kairos, Fateweaver!
Happy hobbying!
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