This is... BLOOD BOWL!

It's been over 20 years since a new Blood Bowl game was released in stores, and Games Workshop has finally resurrected this enduring and popular Specialist Game.

Blood Bowl is the game of Fantasy Football where teams of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Dark Elves, Skaven and Humans do battle on the pitch - be it grass, Astrogranite, ice or mud.  The goal (if you'll pardon the pun) is to get the ball into the opponent's End Zone by running or passing it down field.

I'll give a brief review of the boxed set and add-ons in an upcoming post, but for now I wanted to share what I've been working on:

These are part of the Dark Elf team known as the
Balmorra Raveners.  The team colors are Black and Purple, suitable for Dark Elves.  I've tried to
keep the skin tones consistent with the color palette and properly cold and pale.  The bright green accents stand out vividly against the purple armor, boots, and gloves.  I used P3 Rhulic Gold to give the golden parts a nice, warm, rich luster.

For the Witch Elves, I decided to go with a sort of "Bride of Frankenstein" look to the hairdo.  It really enhances the savage and manic aspect of these players.  You may notice the face of the Assassin looks a bit different.  He is known as "Vigo Vendetti" and I've painted him up with "V for Vendetta" in mind.

Next up is a concept model for a Dwarven team.  The new Dwarven Blood Bowl models look spectacular but they won't be out for another month or two.  In the meantime, I'm painting up some Dreadball Forge Fathers to serve the purpose.  Meet Johann "The Mountain", Captain of the team known as the Fort Tyr Miners:

I named him in honor of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. He's still not completed in these pictures, but it's sufficient to get the point across.  The team is just being painted to a tabletop standard so I can get them on the field in the next few weeks!

The concept was serendipitous.  I wasn't originally planning on this color scheme - I knew I wanted the gold armor but was originally considering blue and grey clothing.  I opted for red instead, and originally went with white trousers but after some good advice I made them golden yellow instead.  I wanted a name that suggested mining, and the resemblance to the colors of the San Francisco 49ers is readily apparent.  But the year of the California Gold Rush doesn't have much significance in the world of Warhammer, so after a little thought, the name "Fort Tyr Miners" just fell into place.

I'll post pictures of the team once it's finished.

The last little thing I wanted to show off is a decoration for my Skaven team, The Doomtown Rats.  While field goals are not part of the Blood Bowl rules (at least, not currently), I made a goalpost out of sprue and some plastic skeletal horse skulls and Skaven regiment shields.  The symbol of the Horned Rat, turned sideways, makes the "D" that is the team logo.

That's all for now, but stay tuned!  I hope to provide more exciting Blood Bowl content in the weeks to come.

REVIEW: IKEA Micke Desks, and the Hobby Zone SDM3b Professional Paint Station

I thought I'd talk a little about my new painting area.

I wanted a fairly compact setup that would still allow me the ability to do my best work.  So I went to Ikea and got a "Micke" desk for about $50.  The desktop is 20x29 inches and it has a full-length drawer underneath.

It's a pretty good size to place right under a window, to allow you the largest amount of natural sunlight for painting.  However, I also wanted some space to store boxes of models and other materials, so I later purchased a drawer unit in the same style.  Its top is the same level as the desk and it cost me $60.

In retrospect, I should have gone with the larger Micke desk for $80 and then I'd have a consistent surface for larger work and no need for the drawer unit.  Live and learn.

This is the kind of desk I built for my girlfriend.  I should have gotten the same kind for myself.

These desks were easy to assemble - it took me about 45 minutes for the larger one and about 30 minutes to put my small one together,  You have the option of putting the cabinet part/open leg on either side.  For the larger desk, there's a hutch available for $40.  It's very handy (if you are not right in front of a window, of course).  Someplace to display your finished work or keep other needed things at hand.

 I also got a couple of inexpensive desk pads to protect from scratches and spills - they're durable clear plastic and sized to fit the desktop.  It's easier to replace a $6 desk protector than a $50-80 desk, don't you agree?

My main problem with these desks is that they do not have an edge that you can use to clamp on a work lamp.  So I need to place my table-top lamp on the side cabinet.  It's a fairly big adjustable lamp with a heavy base about 7 inches across - but the LED bulb in it is so heavy that the lamp isn't as stable as I'd like.  I use a bulb that puts out 1250 lumens at a color temperature of 5000K - almost exactly like natural daylight, but it weighs over a pound.  Make sure your lamp can support something like that, and you'll have he best possible workspace lighting you could need!

I also wanted something that would allow me to keep my most frequently used paints at hand, as well as my brushes.  So I bought a  Hobby Zone SDM3b Professional Paint Station on eBay for $55.  It's 24x16 inches and is made of MDF fiberboard.  It shipped in a flat package and required assembly with wood glue and masking tape.  Assembly was easy and fairly quick (aside from the time needed for the glue to dry).  If you can build models, you can aseemble this thing.  The slots are 36mm wide and can accomodate the Citadel paint pots.  It's got room for about 50 Citadel pots, or probably 60 of the P3 jars.  There is a model available if you use the AV dropper bottles - it's called the SDM3s and it has 26mm slots.  The paint station also has holes for 20 brushes and a couple very large holes for things like glue bottles or a small water pot.  The small "wings" on either side are detachable and can be used for setting aside models to dry.

It's already saved my desktop from one spill and the nice thing about it is, you could pick the whole thing up and move it without disturbing anything.

So, that's a little about my work area.  It's not 100% ideal but realistically, few of us have the space or expense to set up the perfect work space - especially those of us with spouses or girlfriends who have input into how much room our hobby occupies.

There are advantages to my setup - it alleviates the need to paint at the kitchen table (no longer allowed with a brand new table!) or at my computer desk.  However, it's sitting directly perpendicular to my computer desk, so I can just swivel to the right to paint.  That also allows me to view a YouTube video or listen to music while I am working.

I hope you find the product reviews useful - I encourage you to check out the paint station, and maybe I have given you some ideas about setups that are economical in space and money.

We'll Be Back Soon!

It's been a long, long time since I posted anything on the blog.  I appreciate those of you who have checked in from time to time.

I had hoped to be able to return to painting this past spring - I was back to work, and had the funds to buy a new Space Marine army after having to sell all my miniatures last fall.  But a lot of other things changed and I wound up moving to a new place.  It took a while to settle in, and a bit longer to get things set up to paint once again.

Finally I have a small painting desk near the window in the den, a nice MDF painting station to keep my paints organized, and I'm slowly starting to paint again.

So I hope to be able to re-invigorate my blog with more articles, reviews, tutorials and pictures.  It may be a slow start but I look forward to it and I hope you do too!  Thanks for following the Sage Brush!

STILL ALIVE!

Hello to all who have followed my blog in the past - and apologies for my prolonged absence.

I just wanted to announce that I intend to return to blogging soon (in about a month or so) and explain my absence.  When I last posted in late May of last year, I was about to embark upon painting my Dark Angels army.  I expected to have it finished by the end of the summer - but no plan survives contact with the enemy, so to speak, and  Life Happened.

First major change was leaving my old job.  I planned to take the summer off to spend time with the family and catch up on my painting.  My savings were sufficient to allow for that, but after an unexpected family medical emergency, I was left with no choice but to sell my Space Wolf and Dark Angels armies (and most of my gaming books) to cover those expenses.

As you can imagine, this left me with little to paint - but more significantly, it kind of really crushed my desire to do any painting.  Even looking at my work area reminded me of what I had to give up, and that was very sad and hard to face.

I begin a new job next week - and I'll be earning about 25% more than I ever have before.  This should allow me to get back into a small 40K army.  I was uncertain of what faction to pick up - I considered Tau because I like the look of all the robotic suits... but I know little about them.  The new Space Wolves models look amazing but I'm honestly sick of painting that blue-grey and I don't want to have to buy all the books.  Likewise with the Dark Angels - great options and the Deathwing are still among my favorites, but it's time for something different!

After some consideration, I've decided to go with Crimson Fists.  A Codex Space Marine Chapter will let me use all the nifty models that the SW or DA might not have access to.  I love the Imperial Fists Chapter Tactics, but I've never been good at painting yellow!  But I did paint up a Pedro Kantor last summer and I love that Prussian Blue, and the contrast with the Crimson gloves and trim.

My Plan is to pick up a Demi-Company box to begin, adding only a Sternguard Squad and a box of Sniper Scouts to begin with.  In fact, the latter two squads may be my first purchases, as I can use them in the Kill Team games we have been playing recently.

Also, last summer I picked up a Nikon CoolPix S7000 digital camera.  It's got all the features that I wanted for miniature photography.  It's more stable, has a better macro mode, better white balance and contrast, and in short is far and above the crummy camera on my HTC One M7.  As I didn't sell any of the models I'd already painted, perhaps I'll spend some time taking better pictures with it and the Foldio - and perhaps I'll buy one of the larger new Foldio 2's with the brighter strips, dimmers and diffusers this year!

So, to sum it all up - things happened, but I'm back and looking forward to resuming my painting and blogging to share my experiences with you!  Thanks for being a loyal reader!

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

One of my favorite YouTube channels is called Tabletop Minions.  The host of the channel is Adam Loper, who goes by the handle "Atom Smasher" or "Uncle Atom".  He's a lot like me - a handsome, bespectacled, bearded gamer in his 40s, with a family and other real-life obligations, who finds relaxation in this hobby.

I like the channel because Atom is very sensible, down-to-earth and laid back.  He has a good tone and doesn't feel the need to annoy viewers by acting like an ass.  Most of his vlogs focus on ways that the common gamer can get more enjoyment out of this hobby.

One of the videos that really grabbed me was the one on light boxes.  As you may have seen in my previous posts, I have a lightbox (called the "LimoStudio") that I am not really satisfied with.  Atom mentioned a product called the Foldio (by a Korean company called OrangeMonkie).  This nifty little invention is a foldable light box that's small enough to stow in your bag if you want to take pictures on the go.  It's a good size for a 5-man squad of miniatures (or more if you set them up properly).  It is too small for anything bigger than a Rhino transport, but for smaller subjects it is fantastic.

It sort of reminds me of a takeout box in the way it assembles:

And it comes in two models: One with a single LED sttrip and another with two (additional LED strips sold separately if you wish to upgrade).  I paid $60 plus shipping for mine on eBay.

The strips are powered by a 9-volt battery each, and because LEDs use so little power, I expect that battery life will not be an issue (especially as you disconnect them when not actively using the box).

My Foldio arrived today and I wasted no time unpacking it and getting it ready to use!  Here is the first shot, taken with the single LED strip before I installed the second.  It's a bit off-center but I think you can see how much better my Deathwing squad looks in comparison to the banner at the top of the page (which was taken in my LimoStudio):

I got a few shots of some of my Wolf Guard Terminators from my Space Wolves army.  All of the shots were taken with my HTC One M7 cell phone camera, mostly on "torch flash" which is a constant frontal illumination from the phone's flash.

I tried the camera in standard flash mode to see if it improved the quality of the shot, but I am not certain.  Here are the same models with torch flash and with standard flash:

 

Either way, this little light box has a lot of potential!  It comes with three different backdrops (black, grey and white) and of course you can print out different backdrops on sites devoted to miniature photography.

The next step for me will be to acquire a decent digital camera.  I'm not looking for an expensive model - something under $200 USD, the ability to specify white balance is a must, and it needs to be as portable as the Foldio (since aside from miniature photography, I want to be able to keep it in my pocket for regular photos too!).  More on that in an upcoming post.

Now that I have a good light box, I expect to add more photos to this blog, which has been, up to now, more text-heavy and lean on the pics.  Thanks, as always, for reading!

REVIEW: DICK BLICK ART MATERIALS

It may seem unusual for me to review a business, rather than a product, but this is the kind of GOOD news that hobbyists and serious painters need to hear.

A few days ago, discouraged with the inferior quality of the "new" line of Citadel brushes and at the end of my rope trying to find good Kolinsky brushes locally, I broke down and ordered some brushes online.  I have always been hesitant to do this, as I do not have the opportunity to examine a brush to make sure they have (and keep) a good point.  I have rejected Kolinsky brushes by even the best manufacturers in the past, because I know that any hand-made product might have the occasional errant bristle.  The "finest sable" brushes you usually find in a gaming store have not measured up - Reaper allegedly uses Kolinsky in their Master Series brushes, but every single one I've bought has needed to be replaced within a few months.

How do you test a brush, you ask?  The fellows at Genessis Models demonstrate how in their YouTube review of W&N Series 7 Brushes.  Take a moment to view the video to get an idea of what you're looking for.  A brush that won't hold a point after just being dipped in water and run over the back of your hand, will not hold a point when dipped in paint and run along your model.

Since I can't do that with a brush I'm buying by mail, I have until now been reluctant to order brushes online.  But I remembered an article I read at Hand Cannon Online when I started getting serious about painting and using good brushes, and Ghool had mentioned that he has had good experiences with Dick Blick Art Materials.  For those who haven't heard of Ghool, he is hands-down one of the best painters of Warmachine and Hordes miniatures and I made his acquaintance on the Privateer Press forums years ago.  He gave me some stellar advice on what to use for best results, and I'm passing this along to you.

It's difficult to find quality Kolinsky brushes in the United States, for a couple of related reasons.  First is the nature of the Kolinsky sable: It is made from the tail whiskers of the Siberian weasel (not an actual "Sable" per se).  You can imagine that this is a rare animal, and even then, surely not all of the bristles are up to the standards of quality for a premium brush.

Because these brushes are made with natural hair from such a rare animal, import falls under the regulation of the US Fish & Wildlife Service.  Now, I don't expect that they have to kill these weasels just to harvest the tail hairs, but with all of the political friction between the USA and Russia, there has been a partial embargo on importing products made with these bristles.

But I digress.  The main purpose of this article was to let you know about my experience with Blick.  I ordered three brushes - a Windsor & Newton Series 7 Miniature brush in #1, and Raphael 8404 brushes in #1 and #2.  Each of the brushes was around $15 USD, which is reasonable and far less than what I paid for my W&N #0 and #00 in an art store,  Total with shipping was about $55.

When I placed the order, I noted that I am very particular about my brushes and asked them to select only pristine specimens and to please pack them carefully.  They took my request very seriously, and noted these instructions on the packing slip.

For three brushes, I was expecting a package about the size of a box of spaghetti - maybe 2"x4"x9" or so.  What I got was a much larger box - something large enough to ship a couple reams of printer paper!  Inside the box were several of those little air cushions, which surrounded a taped bundle of large bubble wrap.  Inside that was a cardboard sleeve, which had been taped around a plastic-wrapped bundle containing my three brushes.  All of them had snugly-fitting point protectors, and as expected the W&N brush came in its customary tube.  So these brushes were very well protected from the rigors of shipping and the sometimes rough handling that may occur at the hands of carriers who lack our dedication to precision and finesse.

I have never used a Raphael brush before, so I was somewhat surprised to discover that the bristles had been packed in some kind of preservative or protectant.  It was almost like they had been pointed with hair gel.  I've seen that in other brushes before (which makes it difficult to test them in a store) but it's not a big deal.  It rinses off easily in water.

I gave each of the three brushes the point test from the aforementioned video.  Both of the #1 brushes passed with flying colors.  You know a brush is good when simply dipping it in water brings it back to a nice, sharp point after use!  The Raphael #2, however, did not fare quite so well.  Close examination showed that a couple of the bristles were sticking straight out to the side of the tip.

This is not a major issue, since the #2 is intended for applying base coats to an already primed miniature.  But when you are paying $15 for a brush you have every right to expect quality - and if a couple of bristles are out of point, the entire brush will lose its ability to hold a point sooner than you should expect.  I gave Blick a call and Julia, the customer service representative, was very helpful and accommodating.  I explained my concern and she promised to ship out a replacement right away.  She advised me to discard or donate the defective brush when the replacement arrives.  Other painters who buy Kolinsky brushes from Blick have told me about this no-hassle, no-return-required policy, and it's one of the reasons I chose to purchase from them.

I like not having to go to the trouble of packing up an item, going down to the post office and then waiting for a merchant to receive the return before shipping the replacement.  I like being able to articulate a valid concern and being treated like a serious artist and not like someone who's trying to get something for nothing.  Blick is a professional art supply company that treats their customers like professional artists, and for that reason they have my continued patronage and my highest recommendation.

If you want the best results, it helps to use the best tools - and Dick Blick is the best place to get them!

NOTE: I do not recommend using Kolinsky brushes for the following: Priming (especially using my preferred Acrylic-Polyurethane Surface Primer), Metallics (which will rapidly ruin any brush), ink washes and glazes (especially Army Painter Quick Tones), and of course varnish or other topcoat (even acrylic).  All of these substances contain materials which can shorten the lifespan of a brush and impair its ability to hold a point.  Get yourself some good but inexpensive synthetic brushes at your local Michael's or your FLGS (friendly local game store) for those applications.

REVIEW: CITADEL'S NEW BRUSH LINE

White Dwarf magazine issue #66 (which I was sadly unable to obtain) had a spread on the new line of brushes that Citadel was releasing.  Having seen them for myself, I thought I'd let you know what they're all about.

Apparently, they have different types of brushes for different purposes - not only the shape of the tip, but also the materials from which the bristles are made.  The line includes Layer, Base, Shade, Glaze, and Dry brushes among a few other specialty brushes like an enormous Terrain brush.

These brushes arrived at my FLGS today and I looked over each of them carefully before making a purchase.
The much-touted Artificer brush was either poorly packed or not as good as they say - because it had one wild stray bristle, making it useless for the fine detail it's meant for.
Most of the other brushes didn't keep a good point, either - in the end, the only kinds that were satisfactory to me were the S Base, M Base and M Glaze brushes.  I looked through so many of the M Layer brushes trying to find one with a good point, I eventually realized that even if I did, they were obviously bad brushes all around.

The bristles seem like a natural bristle but obviously not quality sable.  Honestly, they seem like the same old brushes as last go-round, only with new names and new handles.

I welcome you to check them out for yourself and see if they are satisfactory to your purposes, but aside from the three brushes I mentioned above, none were good enough to merit a purchase.  As others have mentioned, for the price you are better off with Winsor & Newton, or perhaps Rosemary & Co. for good sable brushes.

The quest to find satisfactory sable brushes locally continues.