So that...

...didn't quite happen the way I had planned.

Just file me under 'easily distracted.'

Between Rockband 2, Spore, WAR, FO3 and Left 4 Dead, I've spent way more time gaming than I should have. And I have to say that, while not perfect, FO3 quickly made it's way to my personal 'Top 5 games of all time' list.
I've already finished it once and I'm going back through to try and explore every location on the map. I had planned on doing this with Oblivion but I just couldn't find the motivation since most of their interior locations just had this feeling of sameness to them.
I think the difference is that in Oblivion you were, in essence, exploring Ayleid Ruin #13 or Natural Cavern #27 - while in FO3 you're exploring Springvale Elementary School or The Museum of Natural History. In FO3 you understand immediately that the locations are different and each have their own history. So even though realistically the places are very similar, in your mind you see them as two very different places. You don't have to go searching for differences to make them stand out.

Now getting back to the subject of the Land Raider. I now finally have my new work area set up and the model pieces have been dusted off and laid out on it. I will have an updated picture of the Land Raider out by the end of next week.

I've also started studying a series of videos called The Structure of Man. For any aspiring artist who is having trouble nailing the human form, this series is a must. Now, I'll warn you, I've heard the speakers voice described as 'nails on chalkboard'... While I personally don't feel it's that bad at all, he is certainly very hesitant and rambles a bit. That said, it's still one of the best learning tools out there. He doesn't just give you the rules for drawing the human form - he teaches you how to learn and apply them.

And finally, I did the NaNoWriMo challenge again this past November. I failed this time, but I have only myself to blame. I kept putting off my writing time to play more FO3. That said, in the last 5 days of NaNo, I managed to crank out almost 20k words. For me this is phenomenal. Additionally I feel that overall my writing improved. I'm determined to win the next one.

Moving Right Along

It looks like I might be back on track for finishing things up around here and getting back to the Land Raider again early next week. Soon I should be getting things up on Grimscale Studios again. I have several pieces that I think are almost ready to go up on it. If things go well I should be offering prints for sale in a few weeks.

Assuming I can pry myself away from WAR.

Slowly but Surely

Still working on that Land Raider...

I'll put up more pictures when I've gotten to a later stage, but right now I'm still just basecoating the rest of the pieces. I should probably just sit down and finish the stage I'm on. I've just been knocking out a few pieces every day or so as I take a break from doing other things, which is why it's been going so slow. I'd like to start adding some details soon, though.

Space Marines Land Raider Mk III - 1st Stage

After a week or so of working on this off and on, I've just about finished the basecoat. I'm still out of practice and it's a bit more sloppy than I would like.

This is the inside back panel. I really should have filed off those circles up near the corners. I was being lazy and hoping they wouldn't be so noticable. Once the thing is assembled they probably won't be, since it will be difficult to see inside very well. Also, I'm still making a bad habit of thinning out the paints too much, which is why I've got all those streaks:



This is the inside left of the tank. It's actually much larger than the back panel. In fact the back panel will fit into that vertical slot just left of all the seats:


Right now the inside is more purple than it will be in the end. The final color I plan on making it will be a much more reddish purple than it is now. The final blues will be a brighter one for the main color and a pale one for some of the trim. I tried out the color scheme using the Army Painter in the Dawn of War RTS and thought it looked quite nice.

Apache Pika Pictures

Wrestled with my FTP site yesterday until it finally begged 'mercy' and let me into it. I can't believe what an absolute pain it was to access it.

Anyway, I snapped a picture of the Apache:


and the Pikathulu:



Should get some pictures of the Land Raider up soon. Tried one of the Foundation paints on it today and I really like it. Goes on smooth and covers quite well. I still need some practice adding the right amount of water as I've been getting it a little too thin.

Two down

Well, the Apache and giant Pikathulu are finished.

The Apache came out reasonably well all things considered. Seems as if the worst of the stuff not fitting was pretty much behind me. I decided not to paint it. With the excessive amounts of plastic glue I had to use to get some of the pieces to fit.. and the places where I never could get the two parts to come together correctly.. I decided painting it would just add to the frustration.. and mess. The two largest pieces (the left and right halves of the entire main body) didn't fit together properly and even with multiple gluings, clamps and rubber bands.. there is still a substantial gap right in the nose of the helicopter. I know I could have achieved better results if I had put some real time and effort into it, but I didn't really want to spend a lot of time on this particular model.

The giant Pikathulu turned out really well. I used some interference blue on the eyes (wish I'd had red, I think it would have looked even better) and some iridescent/pearlescent medium on the tentacles. That, combined with a gloss coat varnish gave it a nice slimey appearance.

I'm working on a Space Marines Land Raider by Games Workshop. It's primed and I've checked the fitting for all the pieces of step 1. The fit has been pretty good so far. And I'm very pleased with the quality of the kit. Very little flash. I did have to slightly bend and sand down one piece to get a good fit with it, but now it slides right into place. I just started basecoating the parts for the first step. I'm using regular Chaos Black for some areas, but the bulk of it will be basecoated with some of their new Foundation paints. I also picked up a Chaos Soul Grinder which I'm really looking forward to working on.

I'm also working on the smaller mini's that came with the giant Pikathulu. They're all primed already and one of them has been basecoated.

I'll start posting pictures soon if I can stop being too lazy...