Let's Discuss Paper Model Terrain!

Whenever I go to a gaming store and they have custom built terrain, I think it's the coolest thing. I want to grab it and look it over and see how miniatures move through it. I'm very polite, though, so I don't just start grabbing stuff. I never thought I could make something like the stuff I saw but I've been checking out videos online and reading articles and I think I can. Before that, though, I figured I would settle for paper models. That was my mistake, to think that building paper models is somehow less creative or time consuming.

Yes, my workspace is currently gift wrap central!

The second floor bends gently upwards.

 Hopefully, you can see problems in those pictures immediately. Overall, despite my inexperience, Lord Zsezse Forgotten Ruins still looks pretty cool. However, if you were a beginner like I was, I would not have recommended it for you. For one thing, I think whoever is the designer of these models doesn't mind how they look when you don't edge the models. Edging a model is basically going over the edges with a black marker to cover up the white paper showing through. I can understand if a person doesn't want to do this but the instructions make no mention of the technique at all, as opposed to models I've done from various other paper model manufacturer's that point this out as an option. Also, it's not specified exactly what type of glue to use so I used regular ol' elmers, which warped the paper in lots of places. Craft glue has a lot less water content than typical white glue and dries faster so you don't have to wait as long for each piece to finish. Little tips like this are something you might not know unless you had some experience already.

The biggest problem I had with this model is that the designer suggested using a butter knife to score the fold lines. I was probably doing it wrong but even if that was the case, I got so frustrated rubbing a butter knife over the areas I was supposed to fold only to have them still not fold right that in some areas I tried to just fold it freehand. That led to a lot of awkward angles when the whole thing was put together. The best technique I've found since then is just lightly running an X-acto blade across the lines where the cardstock has to be folded, it works perfectly for me.

So, I do intend to make another version of this model, especially since one of the coolest things Zsezse does is to include various textures and layers for different effects. This model is really good for nearly any genre of gaming but I can do a different texture and get something a little differen with some plant overgrowth and even a few bullet holes. Overall, I think this kind of terrain is really cool but it lends a game an almost cartoonish feel, which could be good or bad depending on which way you lean. For some grim, dark roleplaying scenario or historical wargaming, it might not work. For me, though, I use several paper models, including Lord Zsezse's recently released hills model, which actually got printed out when the printer was really low on ink so it's got this unusual faded color to it. I also use some new stuff I've been working on as I try to make my own terrain. I really don't mind blending the different pieces because the 2-D nature of the models isn't too much of a distraction in-game.

I mention I am working on new terrain pieces but one thing that paper models have over other stuff is how fast they are to build and the smaller amount of resources and space they take. It's been really fun putting together a fake mountain or forest but it is infinitely simpler to print a pattern on some cardstock than to hunt down all the right pieces for whatever terrain project I'm working on. It would be easier if I had a gaming store nearby or a bit more expendable income so I could order some stuff but that's an important factor in paper models.

Well, I'm hoping to get an actual play written up next but I might have a few other pictures to throw up in the meantime. I think I'm going to try for at least two posts a week so look forward to that!

Paint This Dude #1

A disclaimer: I have actually painted three metal miniatures before this with no real reading into what to do. I just had some metal miniatures and, after living with some family in a cramped house, I had a whole extra room of space to paint in so I bought some cheap acrylics and a brush set from a fabric store and went to town. However, I decided I wanted to paint up my Castle Ravenloft miniatures and so I wanted to practice a bit, as I mentioned in the last post. So, this is the first miniature I painted after I read a bunch of different "How to Paint Plastic Miniatures" articles, primarily this one. Since this is the first time I've done a post like this, I'm going to do a step-by-step commentary on what I'm doing and some thoughts.

"I will shoot a dragon IN THE FACE!"

This is the Mage Knight figure, a Khamsin Freelance. Most of the Mage Knight figures, especially the ones from the first run, are pretty easy to pry off their bases. I think I poked this guy's foot once with an exacto blade and then just pulled a little. Then, I used some elmer's glue to attach him to a Pepsi cap. Oh, but the most important thing that I learned that I never considered was to wash the miniatures before you start painting them! This guy has been sitting on shelves or in boxes since 2002 and gathering dust and grime. He's been handled by me or a few other people and some of those people may have had dirty or sticky hands. So, I washed him real quick with dish soap and warm water and the difference is immediately noticeable. You can pick out details a lot better because there's not all kinds of dust and what not all over him.

Life is cold and gray.

Snow camo.

The next step was to mix up a little Gesso to help the paint stick and get a solid undercoat. I misread something and gave this guy a whole coat of white after the Gesso and , worse, I didn't do a solid, even base. That kind of bit me in the butt later on. If I had just left it at the Gesso, I think the figure would have come out better.

We're not in Kansas anymore.

"Take a picture, buddy! Oh, yeah."

So, in the first picture especially, you can see how that white undercoat makes it really obvious if I missed any spots. Well, the best thing to do would be to paint everything right and make sure no white is showing. That is not what I did. I just pressed on because I figured with the next step, it would get covered up. Spoiler: it did not.

Swarthy, that's what he is.

The shading is so good it looks like I took a bad picture...

Now we are at a point where I did some washing, which is taking a dark color, diluting it with water and then painting over so that the thinner paint flows into the cracks and crevices, creating a really cool shaded effect. However, I did a few bad things. Number one, I only used a black wash all over everything instead of different washes for the different areas. That was because I didn't think I was doing the washes right and then I did this thing I tend to do a lot in life and figured I read something wrong but then instead of going back and rereading what I thought I misread, I made up some new facts and went off that. So, it was black wash all over the place. Then, I mixed blue with black to try to make a wash and it was too thick so his shirt got a whole new color on it. Then I tried to do some drybrushing, a technique to highlight some of the raised portions of the model. Unfortunately, I got a little crazy so his black gloves with silvery studs became silver gloves.

Also, in the prep stage, I should have clipped or sanded the mold lines on this figure. It's really obvious in the last picture there, the little fin rising out of his head is a left over from when he was cast. Finally, later on, Wiz Kids produced better and better models as they kept expanding the Mage Knight line but then they threw Mage Knight fans an odd curveball by making Mage Knight 2.0. I thought the gameplay was interesting and they added a lot of new ideas and tricks but that seemed to be the problem. Mage Knight was cool because it was so simple to learn and play...anyway, I digress. The point is, in the molds for Mage Knight 2.0, there was an updated Khamsin guy that looked more like a samurai with a pistol and less like a bad juggernaut cosplayer.

"I'm feelin' shiny."

There he is. That's my first painted figure. I should have bought some dull coat clear spraypaint to cover him but because I do most of my painting in a room in our apartment, I thought I could just use the stuff they use for clear-coating puzzles, Mod Pudge. However, it does make the figures really shiny and kind of rubbery looking. I like the feel of them, though, they kind of remind me of those little MUSCLE guys or the ninjas me and my brother used to get from vending machines. The base is something else I did with a metal washer and some dry cat litter that I painted brown. Also, the mushy stuff is poster tack, which turned out to be a bad idea because it stays all gooey and gross. I thought maybe when I painted it, it would hold it's shape or something but that didn't really work out. As of this writing, I've painted several more figures and  so this guy has some brothers. The bases I did for them were painted brown and drybrushed green and there's no poster tack on them so they look better. Later on, I'll post some more stuff of what I've done since this mess.

*rolls a d6* *consults chart* Ok, Introduction.

Obligatory Wargaming blog pic

When I was a little kid, I had two brothers and a sister. Well, I still do but the point is, I had people to play with that had a similar mindset. Our dad was the type of guy to gather us all in the living room, set a couple pillows on the ground, throw a blanket over it and then have us pick our favorite action figures and form our bases for an epic, hours long campaign. Likewise, because we didn't have a TV for some reason until I was about ten, we would have to do something to not be bored. So, we played a lot of board games, Charades and even round robin story telling. Because of him, I've never viewed toys and games as a realm for children only.

I've gamed on and off for most of my life. My siblings have branched out into video games and I'd be lying if I said I didn't, too. Still, there's always been a special place in my heart for miniatures. My dad used to manage a comic book shop and made a lot of connections, so he always had some kind of Battletech robot or a pile of 15mm warriors. I had a bunch of miniature Star Wars characters and playsets, countless legos and plenty of little rubber guys that had been picked up in a flea market or a thrift shop. Still, I never officially got into anything until I bought a Mage Knight starter set. I bought packs and packs, looking for the exact characters I wanted and played a few matches against my dad and my younger brother. It was another year before I ended up with room mates that were gamers like me and we played Magic, Mage Knight and Heroclix all the time.

Even after we parted ways as house mates, we kept a small group of players together and played D&D(3rd edition) or pick up games of the D&D skirmish game or the Star Wars Miniatures game. We all grew apart, though and I ended up leaving the state. After wandering back and forth a bit, I ended up at Hat's Games in Tucson, AZ and reconnected with D&D, now in it's 4th edition. What surprised me was the amazing details and paint jobs some of the players did on their miniatures. Also, I found out Mage Knight was pretty much dead. I hadn't paid very much attention to Wizkids but I remember seeing Horrorclix and Heroclix and I assumed that the brand was doing well. We'll flash forward a bit and now I'm in Arkansas and on my way here from Arizona, I stopped at my dad's house and got all my old miniatures.

So, here I am with piles and piles of Mage Knight figures as well as a copy of the Halo board game, Ravenloft and a bunch of Horrorclix that I got on the cheap from my favorite supplier. I bought some cheap acrylic paint and started painting some stuff up. So far, I've done some cheap mage knight figures as practice before tackling the board game stuff. I've got a decent amount of stuff now, so I've started doing some solo gaming, too. Here in this blog, I will post some pictures, battle reports and general thoughts on the hobby of solo wargaming and, to a lesser extent, solo rping. I'd love to get opinions, tips and constructive criticism so feel free to chime in!