The Big Unpack

The Household goods arrived and I've been frantically unpacking the whole house.  Its going pretty well and I'm on pace to be working in the Studio again this weekend.  That'll be the fastest unpack yet!

I've been pretty motivated since the minis are here and I had to swear off working on them at all until I got the house set up... otherwise I'd look up from the painting table six months from now and realize that I was still living in the Box Palace! .... I might be OK with that but the better half would be less enamored of the idea...


I took a bunch of pictures and then realized that most of them needed serious editing to deleted  a ton of old addresses etc... so here are a couple that made it out.

The big closet where the "already been painted stuffs lives.... at least the parts that are in cases or storage bins... there are towers of other painted stuffs scattered around the game space.

Books and games... and one of the towers of painted stuffs...this is one of a couple of towers that Tabletop world fills. And just for Greggles... if you looks closely you'll see the box that contains the Gargantuan Squiggoth attempting to sneak into the shot.... not that those things are very sneaky but still!














More books some models in the queue and a couple of more towers of painted things...  the large drawers are again filled with Tabletop World the smaller drawers are armies of various game systems and singles.







And a view of the game table... although its completely buried!  The big white wall was actually a wall of boxes until I got them moved into the room of stuffs waiting to be painted... DoH!

Well that's the update... looking forward to getting this done so I can be paint paint painting again! 

Next update features miniatures!

Carnevale Strigoi

 By way of reacquainting myself with the tools of the trade I've decided to knock out the Carneval stuff before moving on to the Raging Heroes models... which are more demanding to paint.  Starting with the Strigoi.

The Carnevale Strigoi are the Vampire faction.  They have very little in common with the modern, super sexy, romantic vampire...  They are very much one of the horrors of the old world and Carnevale did a good job of fleshing out the horror side of the Vampire.

One of the great things about Carnevale as a game is the inclusive nature of it.  It has standard fantasy tropes, super heroes, and steam punk-esque styling's as well as Lovecraftian horror.

There is the Fledgeling strigoi... a vampire newly created and just beginning it's descent into horror.  Shown here with the severed head of it's first kill and a terrified expression.  I've used the Reaper vampiric flesh triad on these along with Secret Weapon Concrete wash.  The result is very splotchy and highly textured.  I still envision these old style vampires as being painted directly onto a wood surface... medieval syle.  The victims and servants are less abstract and a little more accessable. 

The Monstrous walk the streets of Venice... classic Nosferatu and an aquatic vampire reminiscent of Deep Ones... of Cthulhu fame.

The Aquatic Strigoi has waterlogged pants and some spots of Secret Weapon Swere Water wash added tio the skin treatment.

The noseferatu is in the classic pose with the 1000 mile stare...

A noble Srrigoi and it's human servant.  The cape has a very fleshy look to it and the waist coat has a lot of texture.

The human servant is an older man whose practice of hygene is limited... even for the time period.   This miserable fellow comes with a lantern that is intended to hang from his belt... a dangerous and uncomfortable arrangement!  I left the lantern for future use!

The Noble Strigoi isn't particularly flashy and everything about the strigoi in general reeks...probably literally... of decay and mildew... everything feels a little damp, if not downright sodden!

A pair of rank and file Strigoi.  Continuing the damp and mildewed theme... I imagine the Strigoi of Venice to spend an unusual amount of time in the water and in the wet sewerage... it shows in the oppressive amount of earthtones and the irregularity of the colors.

In sharp contrast to the Strigoi... Studio Swelter has a new, temporary, painting table.  Just a 6 ft. folding table and a couple of folding chairs.. they'll come in handy when I next have to move.   I am loving the light of this workspace although its a little warm at times!



















... and finally... a Tabletop World Townhouse 2 beginning its journey to join Greystone Village.

Tabletop World Stone Bridge WiP

 
 Here is the fabulous new Stone Bridge from Tabletop World.  It's still under construction as you can see but its a great model... just as you've come to expect from these guys!

It was also a good opportunity to knock some rust off the painting by walking through a process piece that should be familiar and easy... famous last words!  I got off to a rocky start by priming the model in a dark brown... this hasn't worked our bad but I want to sit it next to the rest of the village to see if the hues are a good match... have to wait for them to show up to see.







Normally... I now recall... I work up through the greys and then line with Secret Weapon Sewer Water to  cover holes and add some definition.  This time I discovered quite a lot more primer holes than usual and, after the base grey coat ended up washing the whole model, except the shingles for some odd reason) with Sewer Water!  Take that pin holes!

I then repeated the stone grey base (Reaper Stone Grey) as a medium coverage dry(ish) brush and move on to Reaper Weathered Stone for a light high light brushing.  You can see the two steps side by side on these guard huts.  I kinda like doing the green this way as it takes way less time.

I'll have to find and get me foldio 2 set up and see about controlling some of the light a bit better... the huts kinda washed out a bit but hopefully the difference between steps is visible.





















On to the whitewash process.  Watered down GW Deneb Stone followed by a brush up of P3 Menoth White Base and finally a Menoth white Highlight top brush... all this over the brown primer coat liberally washed with Sewer Water.

I'm not sure but I feel like this came out with a little bit warmer tone I the whitewash process... I'll have to look and see if I've changed something...

Next I'll move on to the roofs followed by widows and details... then tidy up the over brush and placing the loose bits round.  I think I'll leave the lamps socket-able for transport and add a magnet for the winch over the loading doors.

 Anyway... feels good to be working on the tiny toys again!

The new Studio Swelter

 I've finally managed to move into the new place and have started setting up the new painting studio/game space.  This will be the work and play space for the next three years unless something changes dramatically.

The main game room in all its empty glory! 

Complete with its own attached bathroom.

 




 The sun room.  Great light.  It'll likely be the lounge.
















There is a balcony with great views and a lot of space.  Likely for scheming with allies or just having a cold one outside.

The entrance to the balcony and the bedroom.

The bedroom will serve as a storage area for active projects and the walk in closet becomes a marshalling area for finished armies in their transport cases.  Storage for completed armies in their cases has become a significant issue so the dedicated space for it is a great feature








The kitchen will become the painting space which may be expanded with the addition of a desk.  Most the cabinets will help organize my tools and supplies but I'll make sure it remains an operational kitchen for snacks and light meals.  Can't go to war... even in miniature... on an empty stomach!

Hidden behind the kitchen is a space I call 'Cousin It's Closet'  this area will house legacy projects that are not currently active and some large terrain items.







I'm still waiting on my main household goods to arrive but I think I'll be able to start putting paint to the tiny models, on a limited basis, in about a week.  The dust still hasn't settled from the whirlwind trans-Atlantic move but that is....'the plan'...








... and just to full the spot where the dishwasher used to be... a small party fridge, equipped with controls that go up to 11 ... just because!