Ancientsociety's Random Blog (10/29 Crate Stacks)

Modeling, Painting, Converting, Terrain, etc

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CMSheats ( 548 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by CMSheats »

Nice job! I really like his shield. Hope he does well for you!

Chris
"We should have a trading contest! We see who can complete the most trades in a designated amount of-- oops, Porkuslime won before I finished the sentence." - extropymine
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by ancientsociety »

I'm not one to re-do posts but the prior pics really annoyed me. So I toyed and toyed with re-taking pics of this mini, and the following is the best of the worst. Again, the red appears much too bright than its actual shade in real-life and it's very hard to get a sense of the shading up from purple through deep red and on to bright red throughout the cape itself. This seriously bugs me because, for the first time, I really felt like I've captured a realistic shading of red and my camera....just won't take a clear photo with blowing the luminosity of the red through the roof!

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Trading Guidelines:
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2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
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HarlequinZero ( 218 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by HarlequinZero »

The rear picture gives you a decent bit of contrast through the folds, but it does look a bit like red licorice. :-| It also looks like the red is bleeding into the areas around it. The hilt of the sword in the first picture is probably where it stands out the most to me. Also, what were your thoughts when doing both the cloak and the shield red? I feel you could use a bit more contrast between the two. In the second picture in your last batch it's very difficult for me to distinguish the line separating the shield from the cloak.
Brain wrote:The game does not conclude until the woman with the eating disorder ululates.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by ancientsociety »

FINALLY!

Pro-tip: White balance and indirect lighting are your friends. I believe that, with my model of camera, this is about as good as it's going to get and it's about 98% true to life.

Special thanks to generalpoleaxe at Lead Adventure and the Redditors on /r/minipainting for the useful tips!

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
HarlequinZero ( 218 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by HarlequinZero »

That is MUCH better. I can actually discern that the shield and the cloak are separate! :lol:

My only negative is that because the quality has become better I can pick up flaws in the casting. You got one of Rackham's poorer casts as I can see they didn't cast the inside of the cloak's folds well. Although that was extremely common with Rackham and I always thought it was more to do with their metal mix rather than their casting proficiency. That soft metal used to drive me nuts and in AT LEAST 90% of my orders from Rackham I had to request replacement parts because of breakage during transit. Putting soft metal spears/lances in brittle, hard styrofoam packaging and just letting them bounce around? I'd like to know what the thought process was behind that.

But yes, your model looks great now. Sorry for the rant.
Brain wrote:The game does not conclude until the woman with the eating disorder ululates.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (1/10 - Rackham Kelin Durak

Post by ancientsociety »

Last year for the Early War FOW tournament at Adepticon, I ran French Fusillier-Voltigeurs and happily won Best Painted Allied Army. This year I thought I'd join the dark side and run an Axis army. Since I love the Blitzkrieg book so much, I chose to assemble a Mittlere Panzerkompanie - Medium Panzer Company - based (rather loosely) on Guderian's 2.Panzerdivision. I keeping with the 2.PZ theme, I also decided to add some Mid-War elements for play using the Eastern Front book Mittlere lists.

To start out, I bought the massive and rare 8.8cm Flak18(Sfl), AKA the "BunkerFlak". This is an excellent model from Battlefront but there are a few problems that had to be fixed. First, the armored cab needed to be extended on the right-hand side of the fighting compartment and a flip-up weapon mount added.

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I also got rid of the poorly cast rivets on the armored grill, added latches to the headlamp covers, added more struts to the rear ammo crate rack, as well as a license plate on the rear-left fender. I also correctly extended the Flak gun shield downwards with plasticard, and replaced the poorly cast shell hopper and recoil springs.

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Below, are the Command PzIV D, as well as 2 PzIV Ds from the Mittlere Platoon, made by Zvezda. They are nice enough models, however they lacked some major details. Using plasticard, I had to add the driver's armored shutters, the gunner's armored visor, headlamps, the glacis plate tow-hooks; as well as replacing the hull machine-gun. To the Command PzIV, I added a whip antenna.

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Ah, here's my favorite - this is a PzII by Zvezda, modified to the Ausf. B "Beobachtungsturm". This was, as far as I can tell, a very rare command PzII with an observation cupola mounted on top of the turret. I cut away the turret hatch and formed the cupola from plasticard, as well as adding armored vision slits to the cupola and over the driver's position and an antenna rack on the left fender. A whip antenna made from guitar wire completes the vehicle's hardware.

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Last for today but not least is another Zvezda model; this one a wholesale conversion. I needed to make an Opel Radio Truck from the normal Blitz model. This required removing the flatbed and building the radio cabin out of plasticard. I cut several holes for windows, added the roof, and then attached all the little gribblies to the exterior. The radio mast is made from copper tubing and 20g copper wire. I also added a stowage rack over the cab and headlamp covers.

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For more pics and info, see my blog below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2012 ... t-wip.html
Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (2/13 - Finnish T-26s)

Post by ancientsociety »

Just a quick side project I did over the weekend, since I've had these 4 Zvezda T-26 models sitting on my work table now for 4 months. These are some earlier Finnish T-26 tanks, since they retain the dark Russian green paint and lack the "Ps-" serial numbers on their glacis plates. These are basically stock 1:100 Zvezda T-26Cs with minor modifications. The command tank has a hatch and command figure from the PSC T-34 kit, while the remainder include a mix of PSC T-34 & PzIII fuel cans, stowage boxes made from plasticard, and a plasticard axe and shovel.


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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (2/23 - FOW WIP)

Post by ancientsociety »

It's buckle-down time for Adepticon here at the Empire. I was finally able to get in one full weekend day to get most everything basecoated with the airbrush, finish my General Guderian objective, and start work on my Armaments in Miniature Stuka air support option. I don't care what anyone tells you - finding time to paint while watching an infant is HARD.

All the based minis get a drybrush of dirt and mud. My "Husslin' Heinz" objective is in the foreground center - this is General Guderian in his command Sd.Kfz 251. The "G" emblem on the trucks' fenders were applied to all vehicles and tanks in Panzergruppe Guderian.

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Most of the vehicles and tanks received a solid coat of Panzer Grey with a little Regal Blue added for shading. Most of the tanks have the two-tone camo scheme prevalent in pre-1940 Panzer Divisions - 75% Panzer Grey, 25% soft-edged Dark Brown. The StuiG MW camo scheme of a base of Panzer Grey with bands of soft-edged Tan did not turn out, mostly because my compressor is too powerful to provide pressure under 20psi - necessary for convincing soft-edged banded camo at 15mm. Oh well...

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (2/23 - FOW WIP)

Post by ancientsociety »

Well, all the terrain work is finished. I'm surprised at how quickly everything came together actually. Now, it's on to the table itself, which shouldn't be too time-consuming, more a matter of logistics.

The terrain looks a little oversized because I shot the WIP pics with my 25mm Post-Apoc Chap, rather than a random 28mm mini. Enjoy! More shots at the post below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2012 ... ard-2.html

[img width=800 height=484]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xFvz-JsGZPQ/T ... CN2452.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=339]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4bsUZjx0-ac/T ... CN2449.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=625]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eSc99CFaZKI/T ... CN2455.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=584]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HQslyTC54wM/T ... CN2453.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=419]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cN8wL2mKtcA/T ... CN2459.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=462]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5GOHcQVY-HY/T ... CN2458.JPG[/img]

[img width=800 height=501]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s1lOB7pqyLo/T ... CN2462.JPG[/img]
Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (3/16 - 15mm Stuka)

Post by ancientsociety »

The nice part of FOW version 3 is the abandonment of the 3-model plane flight for a single model. This allows players to field in-scale aircraft, rather than the undersize 1/144 scale, and to focus on a single model. With this done, I finally broke down and bought the excellent Armaments in Miniature Stuka R-2 (review coming soon-ish).

I built mine in the long-range version (note the underwing fuel tanks) and it's pretty much stock except for the gunner's MG and the cockpit aerial. I drilled a hole in the lower fuselage with my dremel to except a GW flying base. The color scheme is almost completely fictional - as I forgot to do the second grey tone to the upper fuselage before removing the masking tape - and the call sign is also fictional.

I think this will make a nice support option for all my German forces, as well as the Finns.

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (4/2 - FOW Panzer Co.)

Post by ancientsociety »

Well, I've not had much energy to do much lately, as I'm just getting over a nasty case of strep. However, I was able to finish the majority of painting and decaling for my Mittlere Panzer Co. At this point, the only thing left is weathering.....so close! More pics at my blog:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2012 ... wip-4.html

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"Helga" & "Frieda"
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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (5/15 - FOW Panzer Co.)

Post by ancientsociety »

Thought I'd share this year's FOW project for Adepticon. I had fun making it. If you're interested in specifics, check out my blog. Enjoy!

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (7/10 - FOW Sturer Emils)

Post by ancientsociety »

An awesome one-off kit - Battlefront's "Sturer Emil".

More pics on my blog here

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
CMSheats ( 548 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (7/10 - FOW Sturer Emils)

Post by CMSheats »

I like those alot! Very nice job!

Chris
"We should have a trading contest! We see who can complete the most trades in a designated amount of-- oops, Porkuslime won before I finished the sentence." - extropymine
ancientsociety ( 842 )
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Re: Ancientsociety's Random Blog (10/7 - HG Basilisk)

Post by ancientsociety »

Well, this only took 9 months to get around to paint...my Basilisk Duelist. More pics and info here:
http://empireofghost...sk-duelist.html

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Trading Guidelines:
1. Lower rating ships first - even if I am purchasing.
2. If you agree to buy something, you have 72hrs. in which to pay. If payment is not received in 72hrs., I will automatically post a Non-Payment/Backout thread.
3. Refs are left upon positive receipt of goods, NEVER beforehand!
4. I accept Paypal & USPS money orders and charge for shipping AT COST. I make no profit from it.
5. I trade NIB/new models at retail.
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