6/18/15: Showcase: For Sale Astra Militarum Cadian Baneblade

Howdy folks!

Getting my Blogger game back on track! Will hopefully keep this pace going from now on, this is just as important as Facebook and Instagram!

This was a fun little repaint project I got a sudden urge to work on one night. I'd wanted to test out some basic camo effects with the airbrush, but painter's tape doesn't get that nice organic shape and I didn't have any masking putty. Cue a 1 AM run to our local grocery store for play doh! Worked the charm I'd say, and allowed me to focus on decal work and basic weathering. I also pulled an old Forge World Chimera Tank commander model out of my bits box and got him in the hatch!

As you can see by the title, this model is for sale; you can find the eBay auction HERE! As much as I want to do a Tank heavy Guard army at the moment, I've got too many projects as it is, so this guy is on the chopping block!

Up next is some Blood Bowl teams, as well as some work on my personal Imperial Fists army! Trying to get that Strike Force Ultra formation going....

Granesh

2/13/14: Competition Time: Genghis Con XXXV!

Hey guys!

Just a quick post before I leave for the weekend! I'm going to be in Boulder for Valentine's Day with my girlfriend, and Saturday is Genghis Con! I'll be there Saturday and part of Sunday, so if you see me, don't be afraid to say howdy! I don't bite! Check out the painting competition as well! I'm submitting:

Single Miniature Small: 'Serenity';

Single Miniature Large: 'Helbrute "Laernae"'

Unit: "The Faithless"

Vehicle: "Dominator"

Wish me luck guys! I'll be back in the studio on Tuesday, ready to jump back into the Lugganath Wraithknight, as well as some Tyranids and some Horus Heresy!

Granesh

12/31/13: SLW: A Most Odoriferous Look at 2013

Howdy folks!

Hope you all had an excellent holiday! I walked away with a new lightbox, some Broncos gear, and the new Stronghold Assault book, as well as the time spent with my loved ones! I'm still out of the studio til the 2nd, but expect some hardcore painting to start out the new year!

So 2013 has come and gone and, I don't know about you all, but its been quite a year! Tons to paint, lots going on with both the business and my personal life, and some big plans for 2014! Lets just jump right in, shall we?

January

School was kicking my butt early this year as I was starting my final semester of school! I was still wrapping up pieces for my local Ogre Kingdoms player.

February

February was one of my biggest months I'd had in quite some time! I got and finished my first Blood Bowl commission; a Necromantic team called the All-Madden 2045, and every player was a pun from an actual NFL player. 

I also traveled to Denver for Genghis Con 2013, where my Giant Chaos Spawn won my first award for SLW; plan is to go again this year and bring home a first place award this time!

March

Finished two good-sized armies this month; an IG Allied Detachment, and an all-female Henchmen force.

March was also Lost Souls 2013, run by my buddy RTGamer. We're hoping to turn this bad boy into a full-on convention in Pagosa Springs this year, so stay tuned for more information on that!

April

Crunch time! With my final semester wrapping up, focus jumped back to school for the month. I had some pieces entered into my Senior Art Show!

I also finished my first Heldrake commission, a stock Nurgle monstrosity! I still need to paint mine...

May

May went by in a blur! I wrapped up two commissions; a Valkyrie for a client on the East Coast, and a Realms of Battle Board. Those Battleboards paint up super fast, and would be the first of two I'd paint this year!

I also took a little trip to the land of the Nile. Its a beautiful country, even if its in perpetual revolt right now. We got lucky and were there between uprisings. You can see my goofy mug rocking the Arafat Headwrap in the back there!

June

The summer was incredibly busy, as I was traveling to see my girlfriend, working at the shop, and trying to keep up on painting. Unfortunately, painting took a little bit of a blow here, and would cost me later on (That's a story for another time though!)

Started doing some High Elves for the guy I was doing Ogres for earlier this year also!

July

Completed the biggest commission I've ever painted! Nearly 200 Armageddon Steel Legionnaires, all pewter! While my brain was really fried at the end of this one, I paint to see awe-inspiring groups like this!

More High Elves too! 

August

Two commissions I should have finished earlier, but that's neither here nor there. Thunderwolf-Heavy SW, and the Dreamer Malifaux Crew!

September

September was nuts! Not only did I do a ton for my client's High Elves, but also completed an entire set of terrain for the hobby shop in Farmington (I painted their battleboard in May).

October

Lots of charitywork this month! Extra Life 2013 consisted of so much Super Smash Bros I needed an icepack at the end of the night! The Cygnar Group raised about $400 for Magilla's charity in SoCal, so I'm extremely happy about that! I found some time to finished Arkos' bodyguard squad of Warp Talons for my own Alpha Legion, which I'm extremely happy with! I also started painting Skaven for the same client I've done Ogres and High Elves for all year, starting with the Screaming Bell!

November

November was crazy busy! Lots of commission work and a little personal work. I repainted and finished my Baneblade, just in time for Escalation! Gotta say, love that expansion, I've actually gotten to play with my Baneblade with it! This guy was originally for sale, but I might hold onto it now...

As for commissions, I had some Defense Lines (so many stretchy guardsmen!), an all pewter Khador Cavalry group, and a Forge World Vulture! Lots of fun projects in November!

December

December has been almost as busy as November! I've done a little work for my Alpha Legion by getting my Helbrute finished up (Thank god for the Iron Man movies for saving my sanity painting that skintone!). I also completed another full set of terrain for Good Games down in Farmington; that's a table and a half worth of terrain in under two weeks! I also started on a Necron commission that I'll wrap up this weekend!

2013 brought a lot of changes, both good and bad, for Smells Like Wargaming and myself. Every year is a new learning experience, and I'd like to think I've learned a lot about myself and the business this year. 2014 already has some grand designs and expansions planned, so stay tuned this next year my dear readers, and enjoy the roller-coaster ride with me!

Have an excellent New Years folks, and I'll see you all in 2014!

Granesh

11/20/13: FInished: Imperial Baneblade "Dominator"

Hey guys!

So I've had this kit sitting around for quite some time and, every time I tried to paint it, I just couldn't get into the project. I'd eventually reprimed it grey and left it at my shop, where it sat for a couple of months. Finally, leaving work on day, I saw her sitting on the shelf in the front and decided it was time to paint her up!

When I started, I opted to mainly use weathering powders to achieve shading and texture. I overbrushed a layer of light grey over the medium grey basecoat I'd primed her. After that, I used Forge World's Black Soot, Dark Earth, and Orange Rust weathering powders. Remember to wear a mask while working like this, you end up with a lot of dust!

Really love using transfers, especially on big kits such as this. "Dominator" and "32" are both from the Baneblade transfer sheet. I need to do a tutorial on waterslides, they're so easy to use and add such a nice effect!

Again, from the Baneblade Transfer sheet. You can also see, in this shot, the sponge weathering technique used to chip and mottle the edges of the tank. I find it best to do two layers of sponge weathering. First directly on your basecoat to begin adding detail to the piece. The second is after you've weathered and distressed the tank. The matte varnish used to keep the powder on will, obviously, matte the Chainmail as well. Apply a second sponge coat after the matte varnish selectively, and the chipping will gain some depth.

Basic Cadian tank commander from the old Leman Russ kit. I've got more of these guys than I know what to do with! He was given a simple paintjob to match the rest of the tank. This is the Guard, after all. Battle Tanks before Bros!

The rear of the tank. I've never been quite sold on the whole "Shrine on the back of my tank!" theme, so I opted to weather and dust it like the rest of the tank. I picture this tank rolling through some nasty ash-storm planet during the 13th Black Crusade. There's no time for polishing and fixing up the tank! The purity seals were lightly highlighted with Pallid Wych Flesh to still give the illusion of paper, but otherwise, it was chipped, dusted, and sealed like the rest of the tank. 

And finally, the big girl in all her glory. As you can see, the turret comes off, as does the front and side turret sponsons. The heavy bolter sponsons move up and down, but not side to side.

For those of you interested, 'Dominator' here is for sale! I don't play enough Apocalypse to justify anything of this sort, so I'm looking to send her off to a good home where she'll blast traitor and xenos alike to smithereens! I'll post her up in the ++FOR SALE++ section of the site for a couple days, then she'll go to eBay!

If you have any questions about the tank or how it was painted, please leave a comment or send me an email; I'd be more than happy to help out!

Alrighty! Going to be a slow week on the painting front with my girlfriend in town, but we're looking at more Khador and some Orks coming next! Stay tuned folks!

Granesh