Flat out busy

Sorry for the distinct lack of activity on here. I have been flat out at work this last month and a bit.

I have 10 days off over xmas so ill be planning a lot of painting. Its going to be the only chance ill have in the near future to get anything done...

So stay tuned. Thanks for being so patient with me. :)

Did some painting over the weekend

I got a bit of painting done over the weekend. Made a start on another of the Ogres. The musician. Havent got it to a stage where its worth taking photos yet but I will get some up once I get a bit more work done.

Cricket got rained out over the weekend so I didnt play and unfortunately the Aus v SA test was rained out as well so I couldnt even watch it. At least it gave me an excuse to do some painting.

Weekend adventures

I had the work christmas party over the weekend so didnt do any painting, however yesterday I rearranged my lounge/dining room so that I can sit in front of the TV while painting. That way I dont get distracted by TV and have to stop painting to watch. lol Now I can enjoy 2 hobbies at once.

Did some more work on the Savage Orc Boar Boy last week. Have nearly finished him so once I do ill post some shots.

New WIP

This is the savage orc boar boy that ive been working on over the last few weeks.

Im really happy with the way its turning out. :)

Painting this week

I played cricket on the weekend and I was surprised that after batting for 20 overs, doing a considerable amount of running and then fielding for a couple of hours, I was not sore on Sunday.

Ill be doing some painting this week while i am on night shift so I hope to upload some pics early next week. I know ive said that numerous times over the past few weeks. But this time it might just come true. :)

Stay tuned.

Trying to get out of the house more...

In an effort to lose about 30Kg... Ive started playing cricket with a local club in Toowoomba. Gets me out of the house 2 nights during the week and then the game on saturday afternoon. Given the fact that my fitness isnt what it used to be, it takes me a lot longer to get over the exercise than it should lol.

So my painting time has been cut into by my recovery time.

So there may not be any posts on here for a while. at least until I get myself back to a point where it doesnt take me 3 days to get over the game.

Be patient... Ill get some pics up as soon as I can.

New plan for painting

I had a party at my place a couple of weeks ago, and as a result I decided to pack away all of my painting and miniatures stuff so that none of it got broken.

So last weekend, when I was deciding what to start painting, I came up with a plan to prioritise what im going to paint. I will be leaving everything packed up and just pulling out one miniature at a time. That way I dont get distracted by all the other projects I have on the go. This may not work for some things, mainly when painting a squad of minis, That way I can maintain the paint scheme and such while working across multiple minis.

Its working well so far. Have been working on a Savage Orc Boar Boy this last week. Its coming along nicely. Ill take some photos this weekend and post them on here.

Finally has the net at home!

Well, Ive finally managed to get the internet hooked up at home. although its only wireless broadband, so its a bit patchy. But nonetheless... This is my first post from my home computer in a long time. :)

Thought I would post some pics that I took on my last trip down to Sydney. Taken from the balcony of my hotel room in Cronulla. I like them. although im sure that they could be a lot better. :) Im slowly filtering through all of the photos that I have and seeing if there is anything else worth posting. so stay tuned

Neglecting the painting...

Ive been neglecting the hobbyist part of my life in the last couple of weeks. I had a party at my place on the weekend and actually packed away all my paints and stuff to avoid anything getting damaged.

I have done a little painting in the last couple of weeks but not as much as I would have liked. This weekend is a long weekend and I will be locking myself in the house and painting... Nothing but painting... So ill have some photos to post next week. Just have to decide what Im going to paint. :)

A very wide ranging audience

I thought I would share something that I am really shocked by. I was having a look at the page stats for this blog the other day and I was shocked to see the varied range of countries that are represented in my page views.

This is just the top 10 countries. More recently there are a couple of views from Ukraine, Belgium and Austria...

A lot of the views have come from google searches for the Games Workshop minis that i paint and post and more recently a lot of searches for drawings. Im chuffed that the quality of my work has bought people in from across the world to have a look.

So thank you to all and I hope to continue painting and posting my works. 



Just some pics today

Im still alive...

Just a quick one to let you know that im still alive. Ive been busy at work so havent been able to post.

Ive done a bit of work on my ogres over the last week and will post some pics when I get a chance.

Im getting the internet hooked up at home FINALLY in the next week or so so ill be able to post from home... and there was much rejoicing...

First batch of photos

As stated in a previous post, I have bought myself a Digital SLR, a Canon EOS 600D. Its something ive wanted to do for a long time and I decided a few months ago that there is no time like the present and took the plunge.

These are some photos that I took the day I got the camera. Ill post some more once I get a chance to go throught the ones that I have. :)

Feel free to throw some comments in. Im always happy to hear some thoughts. :)

WIP from the weekend

I didnt get a much painting done over the weekend as I had hoped. But I got a little bit done. Here is a WIP shot of the first Ogre that im doing. I made a bit of progress after this but its the most recent photo I have with me.

Coming along nicely. :)

New order arrived

The new order turned up this morning, So I spent the day putting together the Ogres for a weekend of painting. I decided that instead of the way i normally do it, which is to assemble after painting, I would put them all together and then paint. This will limit the rework that ill have to do once the painting is done.

Some pics of the ogres assembled. Should be good fun painting them.

As always... Sorry for the quality of the photos

New minis ordered and new project idea

I realised that when I ordered all of the new paints and brushes last week, I didnt order any miniatures...

Now we cant have that... So I just placed another order. 2 boxes of Ogres, A box of Bretonnian Knights and a box of Empire Flagellants.

Ive also come up with an idea for a project. Im going to paint up a standard bearer for each army. For those who dont know, a standard bearer is the bannerman of a unit. Carrying the unit standard. Im going to have some fun playing around with freehand banner designs and such. There are 15 different army types in the warhammer fantasy world. I have already got one for the Orcs and Goblins army and the Skaven Army. The boxes I bought today will give me the Ogre Kingdoms, Bretonnian and Empire. Although the Empire unit I bought is more of a "special unit" so the standard bearer may be a bit different from the idea that I have. But ill see how I go.

So that will just leave High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings, Beastmen, Dark Elves, Warriors of Chaos, Daemons of Chaos and Lizardmen. Im going to invest in the respective box sets over the next month or so. Then will start working on the project. Good Times

New paints and new brushes.

A few months ago, Games Workshop replaced their paint range. effectively doubling the range of colours available, I decided tonight it was time to start buying some of the new paints. So I have just ordered about 30 new paints. Mostly within the green scale, as my Orcs and Goblins army is my main focus at the moment so with more green I can focus on that. lol

I also bought some Kalinsky Sable brushes which are a very high quality brush. So I think its time to start focussing on the painting a bit more.

Stay tuned.

New camera

On an unrelated note, I recently purchased a new camera. A Canon EOS 600D. A proper Digital SLR. So ill be taking some better photos of all my work and when I get the internet hooked up at home, ill be able to post them on here.

Next purchase will hopefully be a Macro lens so that I can take some proper up close pics of my miniatures. Just have to save up the pennies for it. lol

A distinct lack of painting

Well, my plan to paint up a storm over the weekend got cancelled. I ended up volunteering down at the hospital building gardens and stuff. So by the time I got home and thought about painting, my arms didnt work and I was too pooped. lol

So ill have to get some done this week/weekend.

Stay tuned...

1500 view project delayed

I know im probably just making excuses, but I will not be able to post a 1500 view project. Due to commitments at work and the fact that the 1500 views is actually happening much quicker than I expected (hooray!).

I have been working on it though so hopefully itll be finished in the not too distant future and I can put up some pics. :)

This is my first attempt at layering... The right hand tusk has been layered. Sorry about the quality of the photo. Ill get the net hooked up at home soon and I can post some better ones.

Another week away from home

Well, it seems lately most of my posts have been apologies for not posting. But I havent really had a chance to do much in the way of painting. I have been working on a new project, but Ive been away with work this week and havent been able to do any painting.

But my weekend should be full of all things painting so with any luck ill have plenty of freshly painted minis to post up next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Started on the dragon

Well, I started work on the dragon last night. I only got a little bit done but im happy with the way its looking so far. Will be doing a bit of layering tonight on the wings to give them some depth and hopefully not ruining them in the process. :) I like to leatherish look so far.

Savage Orc Big Boss WIP

I made a start on the Savage Orc Big Boss, I had planned to start the dragon this morning, but im a bit apprehensive to start until I nail down some of the techniques ive been practicing.

I really love this model... (Sorry about the picture quality, until I get the internet hooked up at home I can only take them with my phone. My new Digital SLR has to wait.)

The new arrivals

The new purchases turned up today and after scaring the delivery driver when I answered the door in my angry birds PJ's (hehe) I set about putting the first one together. Im starting on the High Elf Lord On Dragon first. I put most of it together and I was surprised about how well it assembled. Generally there is a lot of cleaning up and adjusting required before you can glue but this one went together really well. I temp fitted the wings and undercoated it white. Ill start the painting tomorrow morning.

Ive decided to put it on a bigger base so that there is room for the elemental mage that im going to include in the diorama. So im going to see what other stuff I can find to put on the base. Ive got a pretty big bits box so im sure I can find something. :)

Some new purchases

Well, I decided last night that I needed to add some more miniatures to my ever growing pile of projects on the go. lol

So I bought: (the pictures are taken from the GW website, they are not my painting. lol)

Savage Orc Big Boss, This is a new release from GW and I love the Mini, I have also bought another 2 boxes of savage Orcs, so ill have a unit of 40 once they are all painted with the big boss...

A High Elf Mage on Elemental base, Im going to be adding this to the base of the dragon below... Im doing them as a gift for someones birthday... shhhh dont tell them. :)

A high elf  lord on dragon. This is going to be painted up as a gift for someones birthday, but without the rider. The mage in the pic above is going to be standing on the base. I love the miniature and think its going to be a lot of fun to paint.

And the Ogre Kingdoms Iron Belcher. I love this mini, Its just so rugged and primitive. lol I cant wait to paint this one.

So they are my new projects. Im very much looking forward to painting them. Will have to focus and make sure they get done. lol

1250 views! wow!

I just noticed that my view count is up to 1250... wow!

I am making a pledge here and now, Im going to have a project finished for my 1500th page view. I will have to decide which project to do but im sure I can find one in the pile. :) Ill provide an update once I get home and make the decision...

Withdrawal symptoms

Ive been away working for the last 2 weeks and in my infinite wisdom, didnt pack any paint or miniatures. As a result I havent been able to do any painting since mid last month. Its been a long couple of weeks. Im heading home on Saturday at this stage so ill be sitting down on sunday and getting a fix of painting.

I planned on heading into the city in Sydney on the weekend and visiting the local games workshop store, but the weather turned foul and I didnt want to risk it. So im going to have a look on the website at the end of the week and order some stuff online. There are some very cool new minis out and I want to start working on them.

I am actually looking at starting a collection of Warhammer 40000 stuff again. There have been some new releases in this game that look very cool. although I still have a large collection of 40K stuff from many years ago that I havent touched for a long time so itll just end up in the pile with all my other projects. lol

I think im a lost cause. :)

Another Move completed, still no internet

Well, I have moved into the new house. I hope this is the last move for a while. Ill be setting up the painting table this weekend and hope to start painting again. I have a plan in place on how to go about finishing the projects im working on so with any luck, I will have some photos to post in the near future.

Anyway. Just thought I would let you all know that im still alive, just busy. :)

Another Move... Hopefully the last for a while

Well, the hopes and aspirations that I had for my life in Townsville have come to nought. So I am moving back to Oakey. My house will be packed up this weekend and I fly out on sunday.

Im hoping that this is what was stopping me from doing any painting. I hope Ill be able to start painting again when I move back down there.

Ill hopefully be back up and running within the fortnight but will have to wait and see. all depends when my removal is completed. Well I hope all of my loyal bloggees are well and I shall post again when I am set up down south.

Good times.

Unable to find the motivation for painting

For some reason I have been unable find the motivation to do any painting lately. I am constantly sitting down at the painting table to start doing some and select the model that I want to start and get all set up and then something stops me from actually putting brush to paint.

I hope I am able to find out what it is and overcome it soon so that I can do some more. Given the amount of money and time spent in the last year on my painting I would not be happy to give it up. Im sure its just temporary and Ill find some more motivation stashed somewhere.

I have so much on the go at the moment. Just need to work out where my priorities lie and get myself sorted out. Good times. :)

Also working 60 - 70 hours a week doesnt help the situation. although it does help when the pay cheque comes in. Im just too tired to do any painting when I get the chance.

No painting updates

Due to work commitments and other things going on in my life, I havent done any painting for a few weeks. But I thought I would add a post and just let everyone know that im still alive. :)

I am hoping to get some painting done this weekend. but will have to see what happens. I have a few other things to get done this weekend. If I am able to get any done Ill post some pictures on monday.

Hopefully the plan works out but will have to wait and see.

Hope everyone is having fun. :)

New projects and less Clutter

I have started a new project (I know, I know... another one!). This one is a piece of scenery that I have wanted to get for a long time. Its very large. I borrowed an air brush from a friend and did some experimenting with it. But I think I want to learn some more techniques before I start looking at getting my own.

I also picked up some paint and tool racks to reduce the clutter on my painting desk, They were very annoying to put together and Im glad I had some Wood glue. But they are pretty cool.

WIP Skaven Screaming Bell

Ive been working on this contraption for the past couple of weeks. Its coming along nicely. But there is a huge amount of Timber. Its driving me crazy. Im not a fan of repetition and the constant painting of the same thing over and over again is moderately annoying. lol But its coming along.

Ill post some more pics once I get some more done.

Double Wow!!

I have just had one of my miniatures featured in a newsletter for a new zealand based miniatures painting company!! Considering its the only miniature ive finished in the last year I reckon thats freaking awesome!!

I have started painting a new project last weekend. Its a Skaven Screaming bell, which is another massive model. Lots of wood grain to paint. Ill post some progress shots of it when I get a bit further through it.

Im really happy about my news and its great motivation to keep painting. :D

Finally Finished a miniature! :D

Well, in the year since I started painting again, I have started many, many projects, but have yet to finish anything. At least that was until last night. I sat down with a mission to finish at least one miniature. Its only a small one, but I really like the way that it turned out. There are a few little things that I need to fix, after looking at the pictures a bit closer. Let me know what you think...

And for you Grannymus, This is the main brush that I use. You can see the others in the background, but this is the main one. :) Its not too small, gets most of the detail I need. I need to buy a smaller one for painting the really fine details though.

Up close and personal with the Rats

With the amount of painting that ive been doing lately, I thought I would add some more pics of my works in progress. These are the Skaven Rats that ive been working on. There are about 80 models in total so its a massive project.

Grannymus, I will take some photos of the brushes and stuff that I use tonight and post some tomorrow. :)

Update on Arachnarok Mk2

I spent a bit of time the other night working on my second effort of the Arachnarok spider. Its a bit rough but its coming along. I am going to paint prior to assembly as ive alluded to in past posts, The legs obstruct access to the body. There is also a wooden cradle thing that sits on top of the spider that is laden with goblins and what not. I am working on painting both of these cradles (from the 2 arachnaroks) together. They are coming along slowly. But no photos as yet.

The last photo is a pile of about 50 Skaven Rats that ive just started. I also have another 50 to assemble so that is going to be a big project. My next army project (after the Orcs and Goblins) is going to be Skaven, they are easy to paint and the scheme is easy to manipulate for the whole army. Im looking forward to painting them, Im going to start buying them now, but not going to start painting until I finish my Orcs.

Without the net at home, but with it at work

My ISP has decided that they are unable to provide me with the internet, after 6 weeks of waiting... Im a little unhappy, but am still able to paint. So thats good. I managed to get a few pics taken of the Warhammer Giant that I am working on. But they are only taken with my crappy old iphone. so apologies for the lack of sharper image quality.

I am really happy with the painting progress on the giant. The trousers are coming along nicely. The blue patches on the trousers I have done up with a denim effect. Looks really good. :)

Let me know what you think. I have made some more progress on this since I took the pics. But havent got any new ones. Will get them posted when I take them. Not a minute sooner. :P