Rise of the (Tiny) Machines...Part 2

Today, I managed to finish two of the robots that I got from eM-4 Miniatures.

Meet Boris and Terrance

I spray-painted them with Krylon brand chrome silver. I was hoping that that the spray paint would have given them a really high gloss, but that didn't really happen. I don't think it was all that much shinier than if I used a good hobby paint. I then mixed up a batch of Future floor finish with some india ink. Unlike some others who use this technique, I NEVER dilute with water!
I washed them with about three coats of the mixture, then let dry. The weapons were painted with gunmetal blue and gray.

Terrance looking pensive

Boris looking determined

Painting them was the easy part. What took me a long time was what to do with the bases. I am not a big fan of putting a lot of effort into the bases. To me, the focus of the miniature is the miniature. But, I figured that I might as well do something more than just paint and flock it. I have this big tube of caulk from a recent home improvement project. It seemed like it was just going to go to waste. So, I squished some out onto a piece of cardboard and then smeared it onto the bases. On boris, I stuck some junk on there: a piece of metal, a strip of cardboard, and a cut piece of a straw. Once dried, I painted it and then hit is with my Future-ink wash. In the flash forward scenes in the Terminator movies (I haven't seen the latest one), the ground cover is all a gray, like everything is covered with thick dust. I wanted it to look all slaggy, and everything in a gray. I didn't seem to turn out too bad.

Born To Be Wild

Along with the Terminator-like robots, I bought two bikers from eM-4 to futilely try to fight the mechanical hoards. Like the 'bots, they are pre-primed.

"Karl"
eM-4 0064 male biker w/ SMG & chain

This guy looks a little like a beefier version of my friend Karl...with less hair. He also seems like he would be the leader of the biker gang. By his expression, he is not going to go down without a fight. In addition to looking for trouble, he has a passion for Chicago-style, Italian beef sandwiches.

"Bambi"
eM-4 0066 Female biker w/SMG

No biker-gang leader should be without his old woman at his side. She looks pretty tough and wild, yet smart. Maybe its the cool shades. She probably does the books at Karl's motorcycle repair shop. I could name her after Karl's ex-wife, but instead, I'll just call her Bambi.

The rest of the biker gang can be seen on their website.

Rise of the (Tiny) Machines

I got these robots from eM-4 Miniatures.

0331 Skeletal Robot. MAR

0329 Skeletal Robot. Assault Cannon

0328 Skeletal Robot. Rotary Cannon

Not that I have scoured the universe, but these guys look closest to the cyborgs sans their outer flesh from the Terminator movie franchise than any other manufacturer. Another nice thing about them is that they are pre-primed. Not sure how I'm going to paint them, nor what I am going to do with them, but they were too cool to pass up.

Happy New Year!

Well, nothing went according to plan. The big blizzard along the mid-Atlantic seaboard affected us, and we couldn't get out of Tennessee until the 22nd. Christmas was a tad stressful. I didn't get a chance to call my pal Karl and my older nephew was being a bit of a snit. So, no gaming occurred last week. I did manage to go to a local gaming store.

Now I am back home and scrambling to: 1) finish a manuscript revision before the Wednesday deadline, 2) do some much needed repairs on some baseboards in our living room, 3) the usual administrative "stuff" for school, and 4) try to get my courses squared away in time for classes, which start next Monday. Yuck!

Big Gaming Plans for the Holidays

Ahem.....probably not. We go and visit my family up north in Chicago on Sunday. My father isn't doing too well lately, so despite the miserable weather that has just hit us here in eastern Tennessee, we are determined to go. I will probably bring all of my 1/600 aircraft with to have another duel with my nephew against my friend Karl. I will try to make sure that we stick closer to the rules this time. I'm sure Karl will fuss about that!

Dwelling on modern air combat rules, AirWar: C21 in particular, I noticed that in order to successfully target in on an opponent, you have to slow down. That doesn't make sense, does it? Or, are we not following the rules properly? Something that I missed? Well, all the more reason to re-read the rules while in Chicago.

Lately, I've really had the bug to start sculpting. I guess I've had it for awhile but there have been a micro-flurry of postings on a Yahoo sculpting group on 6mm sculpting. It really gave me the bug. But, like everything else, will I find the time? Odds are no. The other night, by 5-year-old daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told her some time to work on my soldiers. She said that I could, so long as neither she nor my wife were home. Then it was OK.

Grading...grading...grading...

It is the last week of the semester before final exams. I have been siting in my office for hours now, doing nothing but get caught up on grading. I have not had the time to grade various tests, so there was a major backlog. Our department just finished a job search, and it really burned me out. When I step back from it all, it doesn't seem like it was a tremendous amount of work. Its not like I've been digging ditches for a month straight. But, it still seems draining.

About the only thing I've done, hobby-wise, is primed a bunch of 1/600 jets that I recently ordered. I've started using gesso as a primer. It seems to dry a lot thinner than a spray primer. My only worry is that since it is an acrylic, it might easily rub off.

Camouflage Confusion

The GHQ of Northern Chalupistan cannot seem to decide on standardized camouflage colors or patterns:

T-54's on the move (C-in-C R-15)

T-72 (C-in-C R-60)

Originally, I was going to paint them Russian green, but it seemed to dark and dry brushing was not very successful. So, I thought to try various camo patterns. I have yet to find something I like. The antennae are not positioned where they should be on Russian tanks, but I couldn't drill a good hole at where they are supposed to be, which is on the turret's side.