Yeah. I know. Big surprise.
Right now I'm working on learning how to work with epoxy putty and try to make something humanoid actually look humanoid. It isn't nearly as easy as you might think.
Until I have something that isn't actively embarrassing I won't be posting any pics. I have some pride.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
I may be slightly active again
Don't get your hopes up too much. It's all very much in the beginning phases of doing stuff again.
So far I have a local game store asking about Saturday paint lessons/sessions/clinics/etc. I had to break away from the teaching I had been doing for a few reasons but oddly enough I enjoy it when I have eager (and teachable) students. By 'teachable' I mean 'willing to learn'. I've just contacted them to let them know that this might be possible so we'll see where it goes.
I also thought some terrain building classes might be fun. The problem with terrain is that it generally takes at least 2 sessions due to setting and drying time. My immediate thoughts were small Hirst Arts projects and the pipe cleaner trees I made in the past. Useful and not too difficult.
On top of all that I'm making my very first attempts to sculpt minis. There's a reason for this but I won't get into that now. My first challenge is making the metal wire armatures. "Twist the wire like this" doesn't sound that hard but for me it is. Metal hates me and getting both a smooth twist and a twist that's the correct size in the correct place is not as easy as the pictures make it out to be. I shall be twisting and cursing at more than a few pieces of wire while I get this right.
Until I can make consistent armatures I'm not even thinking of putting putty on anything. I did take the time to find the sculpting tools I made when I still had access to the workshop. It looks like between those and my standard sculpting tools I have enough to make a good start. There's someone on etsy who makes similar tools so I can get different ones if I need them.
Lastly if I have a good relationship with this store and their customers there's a chance I could set up a regular time to run my dungeon crawl. After I finish revising the rules, revising the encounters, and painting all the necessary minis. I even have an idea for a PVP version but would need someone to help me run it.
Yes, Rastl may be back!
So far I have a local game store asking about Saturday paint lessons/sessions/clinics/etc. I had to break away from the teaching I had been doing for a few reasons but oddly enough I enjoy it when I have eager (and teachable) students. By 'teachable' I mean 'willing to learn'. I've just contacted them to let them know that this might be possible so we'll see where it goes.
I also thought some terrain building classes might be fun. The problem with terrain is that it generally takes at least 2 sessions due to setting and drying time. My immediate thoughts were small Hirst Arts projects and the pipe cleaner trees I made in the past. Useful and not too difficult.
On top of all that I'm making my very first attempts to sculpt minis. There's a reason for this but I won't get into that now. My first challenge is making the metal wire armatures. "Twist the wire like this" doesn't sound that hard but for me it is. Metal hates me and getting both a smooth twist and a twist that's the correct size in the correct place is not as easy as the pictures make it out to be. I shall be twisting and cursing at more than a few pieces of wire while I get this right.
Until I can make consistent armatures I'm not even thinking of putting putty on anything. I did take the time to find the sculpting tools I made when I still had access to the workshop. It looks like between those and my standard sculpting tools I have enough to make a good start. There's someone on etsy who makes similar tools so I can get different ones if I need them.
Lastly if I have a good relationship with this store and their customers there's a chance I could set up a regular time to run my dungeon crawl. After I finish revising the rules, revising the encounters, and painting all the necessary minis. I even have an idea for a PVP version but would need someone to help me run it.
Yes, Rastl may be back!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Rastl is on hiatus
I make terrain and paint minis to play games. They're toys.
I'm not currently playing any games so I don't have a reason to make terrain or paint minis.
I may eventually pick up the project of the modular dungeon again but for now it's packed away along with all the other projects. If so I'll post about it here of course.
I'm not currently playing any games so I don't have a reason to make terrain or paint minis.
I may eventually pick up the project of the modular dungeon again but for now it's packed away along with all the other projects. If so I'll post about it here of course.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Running Games at Conventions
My game club has a discussion going right now about running games at the local conventions. We haven't really done so the last couple of times.
I had to cancel my games at the last one due to work pressures. I was the only club member running games and mine isn't a game the club actually plays but I put it as a club game since I'm a member and wanted our name in the program.
Because of this I really had to think about why I run games at conventions. Canceling was a hard decision.
I don't play games at the conventions. I just prefer not to do so. I don't know or meet many people there. Since those are the two main reasons to go to a convention it seems a bit of a waste to go just to run games and then leave.
In the balance I think I would much rather run my games at local stores. I can support the stores and run games when I want to. I've also got much more of a chance of getting to know people since I know where they hang out.
The game club has a harder decision since it has to do with relying on the members to put in the effort. I don't see myself running games for the club again. I don't know that I'll run them at the conventions at all.
Discuss your thoughts on running games and where you like to run them.
I had to cancel my games at the last one due to work pressures. I was the only club member running games and mine isn't a game the club actually plays but I put it as a club game since I'm a member and wanted our name in the program.
Because of this I really had to think about why I run games at conventions. Canceling was a hard decision.
I don't play games at the conventions. I just prefer not to do so. I don't know or meet many people there. Since those are the two main reasons to go to a convention it seems a bit of a waste to go just to run games and then leave.
In the balance I think I would much rather run my games at local stores. I can support the stores and run games when I want to. I've also got much more of a chance of getting to know people since I know where they hang out.
The game club has a harder decision since it has to do with relying on the members to put in the effort. I don't see myself running games for the club again. I don't know that I'll run them at the conventions at all.
Discuss your thoughts on running games and where you like to run them.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
I've been challenged
Well then. Boardgame Colosseum from the Hirst Arts forum has presented me with a challenge.
He purchased a mold for me off my wanted list! All he's asking in return is that I start building stuff again. Reasonable enough.
However the problem is that I haven't thought of building in quite a while. I'm not playing any games that require terrain (well, not playing any games at all to be honest) so I haven't thought much about building.
I'll start pondering a new project and if you've got any suggestions post them in the comments below.
Who knows. Maybe this will break me out of my funk.
He purchased a mold for me off my wanted list! All he's asking in return is that I start building stuff again. Reasonable enough.
However the problem is that I haven't thought of building in quite a while. I'm not playing any games that require terrain (well, not playing any games at all to be honest) so I haven't thought much about building.
I'll start pondering a new project and if you've got any suggestions post them in the comments below.
Who knows. Maybe this will break me out of my funk.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Quick updates, no pictures
Sorry - no pictures right now. Nothing really picture-worthy at this point.
I did base up some of the 15mm so they would be safe and take up less room. Unfortunately the basing glue and flock shrank oddly so now I have to figure out how to fix it. I'm still trying to figure that out since I'll need to make sure the rest of the army matches. And there's no way to remove the minis from the base and start over.
I have over 100 minis prepped for my revised dungeon crawl but none of them are painted. I canceled my games and my classes for the convention over Labor Day. With everything going on there was no way for me to be ready enough to give value to the people who signed up. So I'll bow out this time and try to get things going for the convention in February.
I feel bad about canceling my painting classes because the only other person teaching a number of classes also had to bow out for work. There's a slim chance he can make it but he's not counting on it. A few people have offered to pick up his classes. The coordinator is thinking of not having any painting classes this year because of the two of us canceling.
Why did I back out of everything? Honestly, no time or inclination to prep. I did build the additional wall sections for the dungeon but haven't painted them. I prepped almost all the minis I could (missing bits and pieces for 8 of them) and they're ready to be painted. I just have zero motivation to sit down and paint them.
I haven't worked up the new rules, the new tables, the new treasures or anything else for the dungeon crawl. I certainly haven't play tested it.
I'm pushing the reason off on work since that really is taking up more of my time but I think there's more to it than that. I don't plan on going to the con at all, honestly. I have no reason to go. When the only thing I do is run games and teach classes then go home it's hard to look forward to it.
Otherwise not too much happening in the hobby world for me. Our local game store was seized by the state for back taxes so we have no home. A group of people is trying to get the capital and business plan together to open a new store with a new name in the same location. But that's not certain and there's no dates. What little interaction I had with the game club is going to be much more difficult as they move around the game stores for different days.
My gaming group hasn't met since April. I don't miss it all that much. I didn't get the time to try and fit it plus this was a group that has been playing together for about a decade. Very difficult to mesh. That and trying to get used to how the GM runs his game made things hard for me to relax and enjoy.
The 40K hasn't interested me at all. I think the pressure of wanting to get the dungeon crawl minis done killed a lot of motivation to paint at all. They're off to the side so I don't need to see them. Except for the ones still in the process of being assembled or waiting for parts. I cleaned off the paint table pretty well. That started when my friend came over to paint one evening and I needed to make room. Then as part of a "tidy up" mood I worked on cleaning off more and generally cleaning up the hobby area. It's pretty bare now.
I still have 15mm to paint but the problem with basing the ones I did have painted has discouraged me. I know I'll figure out how to make it better but expecting 6 nicely finished stands of minis and getting what I got didn't help the entire situation.
So yes. Things are going on but there's not a lot of progress to show. Maybe I'll post some pics when I have something to show.
I did base up some of the 15mm so they would be safe and take up less room. Unfortunately the basing glue and flock shrank oddly so now I have to figure out how to fix it. I'm still trying to figure that out since I'll need to make sure the rest of the army matches. And there's no way to remove the minis from the base and start over.
I have over 100 minis prepped for my revised dungeon crawl but none of them are painted. I canceled my games and my classes for the convention over Labor Day. With everything going on there was no way for me to be ready enough to give value to the people who signed up. So I'll bow out this time and try to get things going for the convention in February.
I feel bad about canceling my painting classes because the only other person teaching a number of classes also had to bow out for work. There's a slim chance he can make it but he's not counting on it. A few people have offered to pick up his classes. The coordinator is thinking of not having any painting classes this year because of the two of us canceling.
Why did I back out of everything? Honestly, no time or inclination to prep. I did build the additional wall sections for the dungeon but haven't painted them. I prepped almost all the minis I could (missing bits and pieces for 8 of them) and they're ready to be painted. I just have zero motivation to sit down and paint them.
I haven't worked up the new rules, the new tables, the new treasures or anything else for the dungeon crawl. I certainly haven't play tested it.
I'm pushing the reason off on work since that really is taking up more of my time but I think there's more to it than that. I don't plan on going to the con at all, honestly. I have no reason to go. When the only thing I do is run games and teach classes then go home it's hard to look forward to it.
Otherwise not too much happening in the hobby world for me. Our local game store was seized by the state for back taxes so we have no home. A group of people is trying to get the capital and business plan together to open a new store with a new name in the same location. But that's not certain and there's no dates. What little interaction I had with the game club is going to be much more difficult as they move around the game stores for different days.
My gaming group hasn't met since April. I don't miss it all that much. I didn't get the time to try and fit it plus this was a group that has been playing together for about a decade. Very difficult to mesh. That and trying to get used to how the GM runs his game made things hard for me to relax and enjoy.
The 40K hasn't interested me at all. I think the pressure of wanting to get the dungeon crawl minis done killed a lot of motivation to paint at all. They're off to the side so I don't need to see them. Except for the ones still in the process of being assembled or waiting for parts. I cleaned off the paint table pretty well. That started when my friend came over to paint one evening and I needed to make room. Then as part of a "tidy up" mood I worked on cleaning off more and generally cleaning up the hobby area. It's pretty bare now.
I still have 15mm to paint but the problem with basing the ones I did have painted has discouraged me. I know I'll figure out how to make it better but expecting 6 nicely finished stands of minis and getting what I got didn't help the entire situation.
So yes. Things are going on but there's not a lot of progress to show. Maybe I'll post some pics when I have something to show.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Stupid weather...
I've been saying that for about a week now. Rainy season, it seems. That means spraying isn't possible.
The weather finally cooperated this morning and I got all my painted 15mm varnished. I'm going to let them set up until tomorrow and then I can actually put them on bases! My very first ones. That will make room on the paint table for the next set but also brings up the question of army storage.
Also, I got most of the dungeon crawl minis cleaned, based and primed. I still have to finish the ones that require assembly and in the hectic world that is Reaper boneyard shopping not everything was correct. So I'll be sending an email to them so I can get the last ones ready.
I have a lot of painting to do and the dungeon crawl takes priority over the 15mm. Sadly. But it has to be done. Luckily they just need to be tabletop quality and it looks like I'm going to have more free evenings than I had planned for.
Finally I bought a plastic storage container/shelves that should hold all my paint and a fair amount of my commonly used basing supplies. Since my paints don't need to be portable any more I wanted to take them out of the plastic shoe boxes and put them into something more suitable for my paint area. And it turns out they will still be portable since this particular item has separate plastic bins instead of drawers. Of course the space where I want to put it is about 1/2 inch too short so I need to move the storage units out just a little bit. Go figure.
The weather finally cooperated this morning and I got all my painted 15mm varnished. I'm going to let them set up until tomorrow and then I can actually put them on bases! My very first ones. That will make room on the paint table for the next set but also brings up the question of army storage.
Also, I got most of the dungeon crawl minis cleaned, based and primed. I still have to finish the ones that require assembly and in the hectic world that is Reaper boneyard shopping not everything was correct. So I'll be sending an email to them so I can get the last ones ready.
I have a lot of painting to do and the dungeon crawl takes priority over the 15mm. Sadly. But it has to be done. Luckily they just need to be tabletop quality and it looks like I'm going to have more free evenings than I had planned for.
Finally I bought a plastic storage container/shelves that should hold all my paint and a fair amount of my commonly used basing supplies. Since my paints don't need to be portable any more I wanted to take them out of the plastic shoe boxes and put them into something more suitable for my paint area. And it turns out they will still be portable since this particular item has separate plastic bins instead of drawers. Of course the space where I want to put it is about 1/2 inch too short so I need to move the storage units out just a little bit. Go figure.
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