It's been a busy week/month!

 So the month of June has seen a lot more work going on than the previous month, which is good. Figures are getting not only painted, but sealed and completed and by tenths my massive pile of shame is going down...but then the Bones VI KS is only 10 mos. away from starting to ship and well....gaaahhh....

So what have I been up to since the last update.

Well, after adding the latest figures, (see more on that further down), to Display Case #2, that cases figure count currently already sits at 209. Those large D&D beasties take up a lot of room.

So here's some of what I have finished up so far....

What was on the table but is now in the case...

I've been working more heavily on some of my fantasy figures, but a few pirates slipped in, and I see more pirates and gangsters coming up in the queue. 

(click on photos for larger photo)

(Taking a break before I even got started...what the heck!? But alas, tis a project I must complete...)

It's amazing how food ends up on my table, and I find myself interrupted by yet another John Wayne movie, or "The Star Trek Channel"....

But then it was back to painting and finishing figures....

NOTE: None of the figures are actually "glossy". This is a result of the lighting in the room, and the crappy I8 phone camera. 

(Bob the Troll...He's had a hard day. Waiting under a bridge all day long, and then these three goats come along...Plus he's supposed to have riddles for travelers...)

(A Reaper Warrior Figure. Painted for one of AD&D players.)

(An old Ral Partha Dungeon Monsters Boxed Set soft plastic Minoatur. He painted up really well for his and the lower quality material used in creating him.

Next up was a Water Weird/Elemental type. This was produced in blue transparent plastic, and so it really wasn't a hard piece to paint. A quick wash of Tamaiya clear blue, and some white highlights, and that was about it, (as well as the greys for the floor and the fountain itself).

(A Reaper Medusa figure. I've finally learned the tricky process of making bowstrings...)

Meanwhile, if you were a "Saturday Morning TV Cartoon Show Watcher", of the late 1970's, then you probably saw these guys at one time or another.

And right now, you are probably humming or singing the theme song....

(Oh no! Not these guys!)

(An easy figure to paint, the glittering tunic that he wears was done by using a Reaper Orange Paint, and then a very thin wash of Vallejo Old Gold over it.)

(Some more towns folks. I swear that the dude in the center reminds me of Lou Costello...)

After this group, I switched over and painted up a couple of other genres.

Here we have an RAFM Call of Cthulhu figure, an elderly lady holding her sweet, and precious Persian cat, while reading from an ancient book of forbidden knowledge...

And then it was time for MORE Pirates!

And finally wrapping up the "piratey stuff", was the completion of my Old OG "Voodoo Zombies".

These guys had given a bunch of players hell over 20 years ago in my infamous pirate adventure.

It was time for them to get the good paint job they deserved, and so I buckled down to it, and now they are ready to drag more screaming victims back into the jungle to the clutches of THE ZOMBIE MASTER!!!!

After all of this, I needed a break from the figures, so I sat down and looked at some old drawn out plans for a gangster/pulp city, and decided to work on a building, (combination brownstone, and attached Italian Ristorante.

(Five floors of mayhem with pasta and cannoli's' next door. What more could you ask for?...)

This is going to be slow going as I haven't built a scratch building in a while, so once more it's a (re)Learning Process.

And now....FOOD!!!!

So recently I've been experiment with some different dishes and recipes.

I decided to do a "Cajun Rice Scramble with a side bowl of Black Eyed Peas".

(Andouille Sausage, sliced white onion, sliced tomatoes, sliced red and yellow peppers, and sliced (as well as) chopped, wild green onions.)

(Adding all of this into an oiled skillet and cook until brown. Add paprika, black pepper, Tony's Creole Spice, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder, Cajun Seasoning, Cajun Black Searing Spice, and a pinch of Mesquite Spice for an amazing mix of flavor...)

(The finished product on a bed of cilantro rice, and the bowl of BEP's on the side with a sprinkling of the green onions on it.)

(The finished product up close. The cilantro rice is excellent and makes a good support for the contents of the skillet. )

How's the paint desk looking?

So it's been a while since I took any pics of the work area. 

Right now this is pretty much how it's looking.

(Cleaner than it usually is...)

(Groundwork and Glues. A count today showed that I had 16 different types of glues, epoxies, and adhesives as well as "A LOT" of different types of groundwork!)

(The "Tools and Extra Paint Shelf". Keeping stuff in semi order to keep it from being lost...)

So currently that is pretty much what is going on in the painting and gaming area. 

More is sure to come, so stay on the lookout!

Thanks for reading!

So I made, (and then broke) a record!

 So the month of June is slowly slipping by and I am busy working on some projects, including painting up some fantasy beasties, and working on some scenery for my gangster/pulp/"Chicago Way" games.

During the year of 2023, I have refrained from buying any figures. Purchasing more figs would only add yet more to my mountain o' shame, and I already have waaaay more than enough to paint.

So for the first six months of 2023, Jan 1 - June 1, I was "miniature purchase free"...

And then I stopped by the LGS in Lafayette...

Sigh.

I stopped to get some paints, only to be able to get a couple of the Citadels I needed, and found out that their supplier no longer carries Vallejo, (which sucks as I need some replacement colors very soon), and it was while I was perusing the stuff there, that I ended up purchasing my first figure for the year.

(I liked the figure and needed another human fighter and...and....gaaaahhhh....)

So that's the first mark to subtract from my total painting pledge this year so far.

Meanwhile in case you are interested, this is what Eighteen Dollars ($18.00) looks like in Citadel paints.

Let's just hope I don't have to buy anymore for a while....

More to come!

End of Feb and the beginning of March...

 So my experiment in "four figures a day" has been somewhat semi-successful. When life isn't intruding upon it, I seem to get a lot painted. Case in point; for the month of February, I have gotten 55 figures painted and one building completed.

This breaks down to:

Building: The livery stable. (A conversion of an Ertl Cowtown building). This is the third building I have built since the beginning of the year.

Figures:

Fantasy Townsfolk: 10

Fantasy Gypsies: 2

Giant Mushrooms: 6

Dog: 1

Giant Rats: 2

Mimic: 1

Mules/Donkeys/Burros: 6

Cowboy/Gunfighters: 8

Pulp/Colonial figures: 4

Voodoo Zombies: 14

Zombie Master: 1

All in all not a bad tally for one months work. 

The easiest way to do this (the four figures a night), is the block painting method. Find a group of figures that are generally the same, and work on the major colors. Put some music or your favorite show or movie on in the background, (I am currently bouncing between Spotify/iTunes Radio/ and The ST: DS9 channel), and go to town. Paint for an hour or so and take a 5-10 minute break. Do 2-4 hours if possible, if not try the "one hour a night" method as that is quite workable also.

Remember that the idea is "to get the figures painted". This doesn't mean flocked, sealed, etc. I consider that "finished". Just get the colors on and get them ready for flocking and sealing.

So without further eloquence, I am showing off some of this months work.  (Please click on the photos for larger versions...I think.) 

Readers will notice that the pics of the figures seem to be "glossy". This is actually not the case. This is a result of my crappy Iphone 8 camera, and the bright OTT lamp that I use for lighting.

First up is the fantasy stuff.

Here's the "bed" mimic. He was pretty fun to paint up, and looks like a Disney Creation with a bad attitude. 

This was one of the Reaper Bones V figures IIRC. I needed some more monsters and wanted a fun thing to work on for a bit. Painting the same types of creatures and figures gets a little tiresome after a while.

Speaking of Disney, "Shades of Fantasia!"

(Reaper Mushrooms)

Again more figures from the Reaper KS. 

I'll be honest, I am quite pleased with the production (for the most overall part) of Reapers stuff that is coming out. I wasn't as thrilled with their latest KS (6) as I was with 4 and 5, and I think that for the most part I am pretty much well done on fantasy figures for a while. Unless there is something new, cool, and "ooooohhhh shiny!" that comes along.

But you always need more villagers and townsfolk....

(Reaper villager. Perhaps he is expressing his undying love to a maiden or perhaps trying to explain why he doesn't have the money he owes to pay back the loan that he took out?...)

(And what's a village without a happy, go-lucky gypsy guy to spice things up?)...

After this, I decided to paint up some supply mules, donkeys, and burros. The majority of these came for a TMP purchase I did many years ago. I like them because they can pretty much be used for just about any real period that I play, plus they can also be used as supply point markers, or even objectives!

(Juan Valdez would be proud...)

("Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal!...)

("Muuuuullllleeee  Traaaaiiiinnnn!!!")

After the supply mules were painte dup, I went ahead and painted up a few colonial/pulp figures. Two of the figures were the same, so I did them in different paint jobs.

(Lord Balderdash keeps his pistol at the ready as he moves slowly forward...)

(Meanwhile his fellow officer companion, and friend Major Blunder, tags along warily...)

Here's a couple of side by sides to get an idea of the different paint jobs. These figures are from Pulp Figures and as always are a joy to paint...

After this, it was a couple of Foundry Ruga Ruga's...

Neither of them seem very like very pleasant chaps....

After the Ruga Ruga's, I switched over and painted up some cowboy/gunfighters.

Readers of Marvel Comics Western series will probably recognize this fellow as from "The series that Marvel wants you to forget."

(Wellll....helllooooooooooo there cowboy....)

And some more guys with their shootin' irons...

(Mister Thomas J. Petty, gunfighter and balladeer extraordinaire...)

(Jack Ashby, formerly a Captain of Cavalry, CSA...)

(Oscar Meyer, local citizen and member of "The Citizens Safety Committee...)

(Henry Dawson, another member of The Citizens Safety Committee. )

("Buckskin Dan Peters, realizing he's gotten into more than he can handle...)

(Samuel Masters, former sheriff, coming out of retirement to handle someone...once again.)

(William "Billy" Appleton. He has a bright blue shirt, a big pistol, and a short fuse....)

That's all for now. More figures and stuff to be coming down the pipeline!

Thanks for reading!