WIP - Ork Terrain

I felt inclined to make some more terrain and wanted to go Ork. I have a giant box of sprue which I planned on using to frame the structures and a bunch of cardstock and scrapbook paper to flesh out the buildings.

I started by cutting out a 1'x1' square of 1/8" MDF. I then rounded out the edges and drew my layout on top. I'm imagining this to be an Ork trading post. It will have corrugated steel walls, a bar serving "Boooz", a "Wepunz" trader, and a lookout tower. I had planned on making a "Gazz" station but decided on the "Wepunz" trader instead. I figured I had more bitz on hand to flesh out that idea.

I cut out some cobblestone textured scrapbook paper to shape and glued that down to the board to add some texture to the roadway.

I then went to town on cutting up sprue and boxing out the buildings and walls. 

I'm using corrugated scrapbook paper to build the walls and a mixture of materials to line the buildings. Cardstock, styrene, aluminum, and plenty of gift cards and loyalty cards are being put to use on the walls.

My 'Wepunz" trader will eventually be stocked full of spare bitz.

The watchtower is coming along nicely. There's a door at the bottom and a ladder coming out to the top. I made the ladder out of more sprue which I heated with a lighter and bent.

Going forward I plan on fleshing out the bar including access points for the roofs and a snappy sign. I also want to pipe filler into each of the walls, top it with gravel, insert some sharpened toothpicks and top the walls off with some constatine wire. All the ground and edges will be detailed with debri and sand. I also plan on throwing in lots of other bits like crates, barrels, and spare parts.

ValleyCon 2016

I spent this weekend in  Southern California for this year's ValleyCon. This model contest was organized by the Pasadena Modeler's Club in cooperation with the Peterson Automotive Museum. My sister-in-law did a great deal of the work putting this event together, and although I am admittedly biased, it came out great. What better location is there for a model show than in the middle of an Automotive Museum showroom floor?

There were many categories and subcategories, over 160 competitors, and around 600 entries. I brought 6 entries of my own: my Imperial Knight Titan, Ork Dakka Jet, Space Wolf Rhino, Ork Pilot Bust, Tauros Venator, and my Dune Crawler.

The Sci-Fi category covered 8 tables and included sub-categories such as: Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and more. I had entries in both the "All other Sci-Fi" and "Creatures/Robots/Figures" categories.

This C3-PO was part of a collection and one of my favorites. That metallic sheen looks 100% authentic!

Machinen Krieger made several appearances at the show.

 This little Gundam tagging the water tower was quite ingenious.

 These amazing pinups were all scratch built!

 Battlestar Galactica had some great entries. The lighting on the president's freighter and the weathering on this viper were especially well done.

 The Star Wars category was well represented.

There were a lot of great custom or scratch built models.

When it came time for judging my fingers were crossed and it paid off. My Imperial Knight Titan took home 1st Place in the Sci-Fi Creatures/Robots/Figures category.

The Independent Characters is Back!

Carl Tuttle and crew are back for an all new episode of my favorite Warhammer 40k podcast, The Independent Characters. So take a moment to visit The Independent Characters website or download the new episode from iTunes today!

Chapter House Studios is Alive and Well

You may have heard rumors that Chapter House had closed... I had. Fortunately for us all the rumors were just that, rumors. Chapter House Studios posted an retourt on their website to the misinformation:

February, 2016 update.

There has been a lot of rumors going around that Chapterhouse is out of business.  While we have not had the resource or time to release anything new lately we are still taking orders and producing kits.  Many kits are being recast as we speak, such as the conversion kits for the Storm Raven, Razorback and Land Raider tanks.

We just shipped out 50 orders that were waiting...

So do yourself a favor and check out their lineup of quality resin bits and kits for all your wargaming needs. I highly recommend the wheeled conversion kit for use with the Games Workshop Imperial Guard Chimera.

Looting the Craft Store

Perhaps one of the best locations to find inexpensive, quality modeling supplies is your local craft store. These businesses carry a wide variety of products at extremely low prices. Seasonal sales and in-store coupons can often save you 50% or more! I bought my Patriot airbrush at 40% off at Michaels Craft Store. 

Here in the states there are a few different options for big-box craft stores and many independent local retailers as well. These stores are treasure troves of inexpensive, high quality modeling and terrain supplies. The following are just a few of the various supplies I spied during my last trip to the craft store.

There are a lot of great materials for creating foliage.

Florist wire is a great material to have on hand for modeling, sculpting, and terrain building.

Sand of various sizes are available for all your terrain and basing needs.

Styrofoam cutters and glue are great tools to have for terrain making.

Floral foam is easily sculptable and makes for great terrain.

With a little greenstuff stress moldes can help you adorn your vehicles and terrain.

This stencil immediately made me think Necron!

You can never get enough cogs and the scrapbook aisle has some great ones for you.

I would love to use some of these to create a clock tower for my gaming board.

A variety of stencils are available for adding detail to your terrain or models.

These textured panels for use in scrapbooking would make great textures for gothic buildings.

Microbeads are an invaluable tool for creating rivets, eyes, and pustules.

Hole punches make great rivets! At craft stores you can find hole punches in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Balsa and basswood are great materials for making terrain and plinths.

Looking for Dulcote? Look no further! Testors Dulcote is by far the best matte finish I have ever encountered. I like the rattle can but it is available elsewhere in bottles for airbrushing if you prefer. I prefer to buy out my local craft store.

Various sizes and densities of foam board are available in both the craft and framing sections.

Clippers, crimpers, benders, and tweezers galore!

Jewelry wire comes in various sizes materials and even textures. Some are perfect for power cables.

There are countless sizes and types of chains available at craft stores in the jewelry section. Real chain beats a sculpted one any day!

There are various hole punches and other tools which you may use to either emboss or punch rivets for your modeling.

Balls of various sizes can be useful for a number of applications. Ball joints, eyeballs, boils and pustules can all be created with the use of these beads.

These gears and cogs can be found in the jewelry/bead aisle and make a great addition to steamp punk, industrial, or Ork models.

Awards Showcase

I've added a new page to the blog - Awards - Here I'm keeping a collection of pictures of my models which have received awards at the various model competitions I've attended.

Take a look around your local area and see what model competitions you might be interested in entering. It's a great opportunity to meet other modelers, trade techniques, get inspired, and motivation to not only complete existing projects put start new ones. As a result of attending numerous competitions, I've been motivated to step outside my standard subjects and start a few different projects.

www.theartistorwar.com

I pleased to announce that the Artist of War has an official url www.TheArtistofWar.com. While you may still link to this blog via the blogger address this new URL is just a precursor of things to come!