Happy Halloween! A Trick & Some Treats

                                    

  Happy Halloween ! 

                                    

By far the coolest holiday, I had to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. If you don't have the tradition in your country, it is pretty much isolated to countries that trace back to those islands off the upper left hand side of Europe, then why not import it? If McDonalds can be brought to India, then certainly Halloween can find a home anywhere.  Costumes & Monsters & Candy: what's not to love?  Plus it's a holiday that is focused on the night... not many of those around.  So unleash your favorite costume, and if you're young enough, have a kid, or maybe if you're just short enough, go demand candy from the neighbors ;) 

Just look at all the fun these kids are having... 

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd open my door to this lot either.

In the tradition of Trick or Treat, I'm going to give you both!

 The Trick: 

Easier than pie perfect animal eye:

This is a trick that is simple and effective.  One of the things most commonly complained about by people trying to paint miniatures is painting eyes.  I have seen people get so obsessed with trying to get eyes right that they continue the typical 'dark almond shape, smaller light almond inside, dark dot/line inside' style on everything with eyes. That might be ok for humans but relax! Most animals don't have eyes like humans, with all that white showing. Not long ago I saw a picture of some horses, a whole unit of cav, and every horse had these awkward almond whites for eyes.  I don't want to seem mean by showing a picture of them, not trying to 'shame' anyone, my only purpose is to remind people that it is easy to get stuck in a pattern & assumption, and sometimes those assumptive patterns are neither effective or worth the increased work & strain. 

For most animals just paint the eye black and add a small reflective dot.  Don't use white by the way.  I almost never use white, it is far too bright.  A small dot of off white like P3 Menoth White or Reaper Linen is fine.  The Ape above's reflective dot isn't done in white but it looks white because it's the lightest color on the piece. And that's it! Takes all of 3 seconds and looks right if I say so myself. 

If you have problems with human eyes you can do something similar.. go with that dark almond shape (don't use black! A brown is best unless you're going for the 1920's starlet or modern goth look) and add a dot of light to one corner, and repeat for the other eye, now the person is looking to one side. Much easier than looking straight ahead!  A great compromise if you're not confident about your brush control or have a whole bench full of eyes to do. 

OK, that was your Trick, now on to 

 The Treats: 

My house is fresh out of goodies, but some of the neighbors are giving things away...

Monty's Caravan is spilling out goods here and here. He's past 50,000 views, so go view some more and see about some prizes! 

Loki's Great Hall has a Jack-O-Lantern set out, so go up to the door and demand Treats, and don't let that Viking costume scare you. He's celebrating cramming in 200 followers into his Hall, so if there is room for all of them, surely there is room for more. 

And have a Happy Halloween!

Nothing to be afraid of.   Right?

Dungeon Dwellers Blood Bowl Team : Do You Dare Delve Where Darkness Dwells?

The Dungeon Dwellers Chaos Pact Blood Bowl team is finished and ready to fly off to Europe.

A client of mine is planning to attend the Dungeon Bowl Blood Bowl tournament in Dusseldorf Germany next year.  I went this year, and had a great time.  The only potential snag for it though is that since it is held in a Games Workshop location, only GW minis are allowed. Setting aside all the feelings that tends to bring up, the biggest problem was he didn't have a team with GW minis!  Yes, GW has let their interest in Blood Bowl wane to the point that it's more likely people will have teams made of other miniatures than of GW.  So he needed a legal team.

But not just any team.  The last Blood Bowl minis GW produced was near around 15 years ago?  So a lot of people have the GW teams, or at least have seen them, and often, for the last 20 years. He wanted something unique. We tossed some ideas around, and then it struck me that since this was the Dungeon Bowl, what about a team that is defending the dungeon?  It is their home.  This lead to some ideas that finally settled into a 'dark, sinister dungeon dwellers with a bit of disturbing tech': the Dark Eldar line being ideal and the Chaos Pact roster, with a variety of monsters being the ideal vector to bring them to life.

So on to the team!

The big draw of a Chaos Pact team is its three big guys!

Ogre                                    Minotaur                                           Troll

The Dark Eldar Talos kit came with a lot of extras to donate to his buddies.

Next is the three small fellows, the Renegades:

Goblin                                      Skaven                              Dark Elf

They are just linemen on their respected teams, but out of that element and working together they are special.

The Skaven's armor seemed to go very well with the aesthetic of the Dark Eldar.

Then there are the Chaos Marauders:

Something 'Hellraiser' about the style of these guys.  

Since Marauders can have mutations, I gave them a lot: 2 Claws, Big hand, 2 Tentacles...

& more..

more mutations: Extra Arms, 2 Extra Heads, and 2 without mutations.

And a couple Star Players for the team: 

Ugroth (Chainsaw) & Dribblesnot (Bomber)

The weapons have a different look to fit the theme: a chain-whip sword for a chainsaw, and a goblin throwing a big bouncing trap jaw for a bomb. 

The Staff: 

Apothecary                                            Coach                                    Cheerleader

Re-roll tokens: Bronze for leader, iron for regular

And the team together: 

(click for larger)

I hope they have fun at the Dungeon Bowl next year. 

Maybe they'll have the luck of 'Home Field Advantage'!

Tokens for Dungeon Dwellers Blood Bowl Team

The last three updates were part of a 'Guess the Project' style that I do now and then.
Pryn was the first to pinpoint the exact project type: a Chaos Pact Blood Bowl Team.

You can check out the last three updates to see the Troll, Ogre & Minotaur, or 'Talostaur' as I've been calling him.  I am a big fan of the Chaos Pact team in Blood Bowl.  Not only is it a fun team to play.. who doesn't like three big guys? but it has a lot of interesting potential with all the mutation access.  Maybe best of all though is how open to theme the roster is.  I have a lot of different ideas for Chaos Pact teams of different types.  My own is a Narnia theme team, but I have another idea that I may make at some point.

In the meantime, this team's theme is 'dark sinister dungeon dwellers'. That being the case I figured a set of dungeon trap doors would make a good set of tokens.

I made these with that in mind:

I can imagine secret trap doors opening and a thin pale hand reaching out to trip an opposing player, or nudge the ball closer to a dwellers team mate to explain the 're-roll' concept.

More on the team soon, they are almost finished.

In the meantime, here are the three amigos from the last few updates together:

I liked the idea of tying the disparate monsters together by their armor, but with different main colors.
All the skin is paler than normal for their species though, to show how they live their life in the dungeon away from any sunlight.

Bio-Mechanical Beastie : guess the project round three

You've seen a Troll with a mechanical arm.
You've seen an Ogre with mechanical tentacles.

This beast is more machine than animal, having just some flesh showing within it's metal mass.

What is he? 

(click for larger)

What is his purpose? How does he fit in with the other two?

There have been some close guesses so far, but the exact project remains elusive.

Ogre with Mechanical Tentacles: guess the project

Some interesting guesses from the Troll. Let's throw another hint into the mix:

Devo has nothing on this guy.

Wouldn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley.

Even more, wouldn't want to be this guy.

Troll with the Mechanical Hand : guess the project

Time for another bout of 'Guess the Project' !

First up:

He's a Troll who's very handy to have around the house, should you need any troublesome jars opened.

Who is he and what is his purpose? He's not saying.  Maybe you can guess.

(click for larger)

A to Z Blogger Book Survey

Here's a collection of A-Z questions of your reading habits I found over at Too Much Free Time, proving that yes indeed he does. But I decided I could spare the time to give it a go too, for the sake of literacy.  And the children... do it for the children. 

Author you've read the most books from:

Edgar Rice Burroughs.  He wrote so many books, far more than most authors, and I read a majority of them. 

My father bought as many as he could when he was a kid and kept them all, giving me several boxes full of them when I a kid.  Boxes full of the Jungles of Africa, Mars, Venus, the Moon and Pellucidar, the center of the Earth.  I couldn't get enough. 

Best sequel ever:

Oh, tough one.  World Without End by Ken Follet. Pillars of the Earth was one of my favorite books and the sequel is right up there.  Great story, emotional roller coaster, gut-wrencher for what the characters go through. 

Currently reading:

A Dance of Dragons. George R.R. Martin.  Quite good, but I wish I hadn't had such a long break between this and the last book. 

Drink of choice whilst reading:

Um.. water? 98% of the time I drink water or fruit juice, and most of the time it's water, so.. water. 
Exciting huh?

E-reader or physical book:

Actual book.  I don't have an E-reader.  I also don't have a lot of time lately for reading, so I listen to a lot of unabridged audio books because I can do that while I work. 

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:

Wow.  You know, I'll admit, I was a bit shy, and a touch of a late-bloomer, but I did have a few real girlfriends.  

I didn't have a need to date fictional characters. 

Glad you gave this book a chance:

Dauntless. From 'The Lost Fleet' series by Jack Campbell.  

It was a bit repetitive with some phrases and needlessly rehashed the main character's motivational thought process, but overall it was a fun space opera with some good space fleet combats. 

Hidden book gem:

Lucifer. The Vertigo graphic novel series.  It may be a comic book, and so, chock full of pictures, but the story is interesting, characters are compelling, and full of big questions about the creation of myths, morality and personal choice. Really the story begins with the Sandman title Season of Mists.  Start with that, then go on with Lucifer.  Combining dozens of different mythologies into one tapestry, centered on Lucifer, who is probably the most dynamic and sympathetic character in Christian/Islamic mythology.  This needs to be made into an HBO series. If you find mythology, ancient history, philosophy or the origins of religions interesting, don't let the format of this story dissuade you from reading it... it has a lot to offer.  

Important moment in your book life:

Second grade class trip to the school library.  We were told 'find a book to check out'.  I saw a thick, old looking book, opened it, saw a cool map on the inside cover, and though I didn't know what a 'Hobbit' might be, I knew the book was the one I wanted, even if it was four times bigger than any book I'd read.  The teacher tried to talk me out of it, 'are you sure you want that one?' I did. And very glad I am that I was. 

Just finished:

Dies the Fire, by S.M. Stirling.  Fun book, may do a 'stories to paint by' about this soon.  

I prefer the Nantucket series (much more interesting) but this was entertaining.

Kind of book you won't read:

Computer Code Manuals, Self-Help drivel, Modern Political Opinion Trash, probably a lot more. 

Longest book you've read:

Probably one of the George R.R. Martin books. I think one of them edged over 1200 pages.

Major book hangover because of disappointing endings:

Lord of the Rings.  Not that it's ending wasn't good, just the fact that it did end, and I was disappointed it ended. 

Number of bookcases you own:

Five. Plus storage boxes. 

One book you've read multiple times:

Lord of the Rings.  Have read it a few times.  It's worth the re-read.

Preferred place to read:

On Vacation.  I love down-time, after exploring a new place, coming back to where I'm staying and relax with a novel.  At home there is always something that needs to be attended to, but on vacation, I feel much more free to enter another world.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

Tolkien: 'Not all those who wander are lost'.  I hope he's right about that one, there might be hope for me yet. ;) 

Reading regret:

The half hour I devoted to attempting to read Dan Brown.  Maybe he has ideas that can make for fun movies:he should just sell his ideas to a screenplay writer.  But he can't write without it being painful to read. Just terrible.  I couldn't continue the book.  

Series you started and need to finish:

I need to get back to the Colleen McCullough Rome series.  Wonderful books. 

Three of your all-time favorite books:

1984  <- Link: (Covered this in detail before)

Lord of the Rings (yeah, I'm going to lump it in as one book. Try to stop me)

Pillars of the Earth

Unapologetic fanboy for:

Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially the Barsoom series.  

Grab your radium pistol and head to your flier, it's time for adventure. 

Very excited for this release:

Ack-Ack Macaque.  Already released, but I haven't had time to get it. 

A chimp pilot with a stogie and atomic zeppelins in World War II ? 

Yeah, that's worth some anticipation, I'll have to pick it up. 

Worst bookish habit:

Procrastination.  Easy for me to get busy in the middle of a book and not get back to it for too long.  

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

Warriors of God. Richard the Lionheart & Saladin in the Third Crusade. by James Reston Jr.

Your latest book purchase:

It was a miniatures rules book, but I expect this means novel, so: 

The Eternal Savage, Nu of the Neocene. by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Saw a nice illustrated copy and it was a Burroughs I didn't have: win-win.

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waaay too late:)

A Dance With Dragons.  Being the book I'm currently reading and that I read in late hours, that's going to be the latest culprit. 

.........................................

If you'd like to give this a spin yourself, here's a copy of the questions in easy copy format: 

Author you've read the most books from:

Best sequel ever:

Currently reading:

Drink of choice whilst reading:

E-reader or physical book:

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:

Glad you gave this book a chance:

Hidden book gem:

Important moment in your book life:

Just finished:

Kind of book you won't read:

Longest book you've read:

Major book hangover because of  disappointing endings:

Number of bookcases you own:

One book you've read multiple times:

Preferred place to read:

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

Reading regret:

Series you started and need to finish:

Three of your all-time favorite books:

Unapologetic fanboy for:

Very excited for this release:

Worst bookish habit:

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

Your latest book purchase:

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waaay too late:)