11/5/13: Extra Life 2013; Alpha Legion and Terrain WIP

Hey guys!

So its finally come and gone! Extra Life 2013 was November 2nd and 3rd, and boy howdy, was it fun! Didn't get a lot of tabletop gaming in, but my thumb is still killing me from playing too much Super Smash Bros on the Wii! Not a lot of pictures, but I'll let them do most of the talking!

Sonic's my usual go-to character when I rock out Brawl. Good to have some actual challenges this time around! Played a little Sega Genesis too, but the Wii was our major focus. I did get a game of 40k in for the Badab War Campaign; I got my face stomped by the Raptors (damn you Lias Issoldon!)

My buddy's wife and her sister brought some snacks to keep us going all night. The Mario Mushrooms are made from Rice Krispies with a marshmellow bottom. Delicious!

RTGamer and the rest of the Fantasy guys got some Triumph and Treachery in, and seemed like they had a blast with it! Lots of laughing, yelling, and excitement was had! Their first game took forever, but I don't think they minded! I need to get my Vampire Counts up and running!

There was also some FIFA involved, a little Magic, lots of yelling, and a ton of fun! Overall, Durango Diceworks raised about $400 towards Extra Life and the Children's Miracle Network! Huzzah for the group, thanks to all my contributors and well-wishers for helping us towards our goals! I've got some bigger plans next year, we'll see how they culminate!

I've also jumped back into some projects, both personal and commissions. First off is a redo of my Chosen Champion. I wasn't happy with his color, so I scrapped the model entirely, and opted for a darker, greener tint. The glow effect on his backpack, chest and eyes is Moot Green dusted once dry with a lime green soft pastel. By taking your hobby knife and dragging it down the pastel, you can make your own powders; great for weathering, they help immensely with glow effects and tints. I may have a tutorial on it soon! 

And the commission! It consists of the Imperial Defense Emplacement here and two Defense Lines (4 sections). Gotta say, they paint up quickly and really nicely...until you get to the Cadians on the bases. They don't paint up quite as well, and the fact torsos and skulls just stretch on to oblivion just drives me nuts! Going to try to get 2 pieces done tonight and the rest done tomorrow, but we may just wait til Thursday. Depends on work tomorrow!

Alrighty! Back to work! Following the terrain, I'll be rocking out an Uhlan-heavy Khador group and an Imperial Vulture! Should be fun, so stay tuned!

Granesh

10/26/13: Finished: Charity Cygnar Battlegroup

Hey guys!

So about a month ago, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, looking for prizes for his charity 40k and Warmachine event. He was looking for something like a Dreadnought or some vouchers, but anything would do. Jump back to March, as the shop I manage was getting rid of our Warmachine stock, as it just didn't take off around here. Everything was 50% off, so I had to pick up some paints and a Battlegroup. I saw Cygnar, loved the look, picked them up, built them, then packed them away. I decided I'd rather see the group do something charitable than collect dust, so I set to work!

I opted for a simple-yet-effective scheme to allow someone to add to the group easily, yet still making these pieces stand out.

Really happy with the vent glow; its P3's Arcane Blue layered up to white.

Really happy with Stryker, but getting photos of his face is driving me nuts! I layered him up to Pallid Wych Flesh, so getting that color to photograph right has been a nightmare.

The Power Sword effect turned out perfectly!

The Lancer; I'm really happy with the checkers on the shield, and the glow effect turned out nicely on his shoulders.

The Charger; probably my least favorite Warjack, just not a lot of area for customization on him.

Big Bada Boom!

And the Ironclad! This guy was fun, pretty intimidating-looking model, but lots of space for weathering and freehand.

The Cygnar emblem on his top part is all freehanded; really adds some personality and effect to the model.

Stryker and his bodyguard of Jacks holding the Smells Like Watchtower from those crazy Menoth jerks!

So glad to be done with these, and I'll be even happier to see what they raise for charity. Speaking of charity, Extra Life 2013 is only a week out, so if you haven't supported the cause, swing on over to the page HERE and show your support! Anything is appreciated!

Alrighty, I'll be out of the studio this coming up week, visiting my girlfriend for Halloween, but expect tons of pictures of Extra Life the following Saturday/Sunday, and I'll be working hard on terrain and some IG stuff the week after! Stay tuned guys!

Granesh

10/13/13: Smells Like Charity...Again! Extra Life 2013 and Charity Gaming Event

Hey guys!

Its been a busy two weeks! This post is going to have a little bit of painting showcase, but I really want to focus on the more important aspects this time; namely, more charity work!

Those of you might remember this time last year, Smells Like Wargaming participated in two charity events; Extra Life 2012, and the Breachside Benevolence Ball. Both were for great causes, and greatly helped out their respective groups. Lets break them down again, shall we?

With Extra Life 2012, myself, along with two other members of our gaming group, Durango Diceworks, raised over $800 for the Children's Miracle Network. We got in some 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, plenty of Magic, Xbox, X-Wing, and....*shudders*...Nitro Dice...

There may have been some...drinks involved...too...

For those of you unfamiliar with Extra Life, its a charity group involved with raising money for your local Children's Hospital by getting pledges to play games for 24 25 hours. Its for a great cause, and we all have a ton of fun gaming and raising money for the kids. Its all about the kids, ya'know!

This year, I'm hoping for an even greater turnout and results. You can't go wrong with raising that much money for charity, but hey, we've always gotta aim higher! For those of you interested, here's a link to my Extra Life page: Granesh's Extra Life Page 

The Extra Life page recommends a dollar an hour ($25), but anything works. My personal goal is $250, but I'm hoping that's a glass ceiling that we smash through! Honestly, any money raised for this group will make me happy!

Believe me though, I've got more going on than gaming for charity too. I'm always happy to donate my talents to these endeavours as well! Again, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, asking if I could donate some vouchers for painting for his Charity Gaming Event, taking place in Southern California November 9th. I one upped him, as I like to do, and offered to paint up a Cygnar Battlegroup to be raffled off for charity. 

Again, for those of you who don't remember, I painted up a Seamus Crew and redid some models for a second crew (for some reason, I can't find pictures) for Malifaux; the two crews raised about $150 towards charity. Magilla approached me again, as I said, looking for some support, and I figured it'd be better if we had a set of models the bidders could see in the flesh. I opted for a Cygnar Battlegroup, as Warmachine seems to be bigger in their area than Malifaux at the moment. Pictures should begin next week of the progress, I'm very partial to that Colonel Striker model from that set...

Blue and Brass? I think that can be done!

Expect shots of this project over the next week and a half. I'll be out of town for Halloween, so we'll have to get it done in that timeframe. 

I apologize for the lack of updates, Facebook and Twitter seem to be a little easier for posting, especially WIP shots. I was working my butt off last week on High Elf stuff to get them ready for my client who was traveling with RTGamer and my boss to Feast of Blades. For those of you who haven't seen it, here's the freehand on the Dragon Prince's banner:

Alrighty! Got a game of Blood Bowl today (Don't lose too many skinks...) and I'm doing some work on my Warp Talons to relax, and monday, expect some Skaven and Cygnar goodness!

Granesh