Drowning in starter sets...

Okay, I admit it. I love starter sets.

With the recent surge in skirmish type miniature/table top games, there have been a lot of starter sets on the market. This makes getting into a game easy and more affordable than ever. And the quality of the miniatures has certainly gotten better. Add in Kickstarter backing and there is no end in sight to new games!

After years of painting commission work, I never really got the chance to play. Now that I'm back painting I've started accumulating starter sets left and right. It also represents a chance to reacquire my old painting skills: I can speed paint on the line troops, and take a bit of time and effort on the commander/leader models.

First, it was the Hordes (Mark II) starter set. And then came Infinity: Operation Ice Storm. And a KS for Heavy Metal Gear. And then Wild West Exodus. And on, and on, and on... especially when a new starter box comes out for a faction in Infinity. I really love the work that Corbus Belli is doing with their miniature lines/factions. Outstanding stuff.

Anyway, as I paint my way through the next group I keep looking forward to what I'll discover next. The wish list is already pretty long...

Happy holidays,

Jester

Sometimes only an airbrush will do...

Sometimes, you just want the smoothest layer you can get on a miniature. And you can't use a brush. So when this happens, I break out my airbrush. Really, it isn't just for priming you know ;-)


Here I use some sticky tack and a sculpting tool to carefully mask off the area on the miniature I want to paint. Trust me, a little patience goes a long way when you're doing this task.

Then I just apply my paint via my Iwata HP-C. No muss, no fuss.

I carefully peel away the sticky tack and I'm finished.

You'll have to wait a bit to see the finished miniature, I'm afraid.

Working my way back into it...

This is the result of last night's painting session. Not too shabby. A few things to clean up, and then to do the base work.

I hope to use this figure in the future as a player-character in a Pathfinder campaign. It is a wonderful miniature from Scibor Miniatures.

Start Me Up

To quote the Rolling Stones: "If you start me up, I'll never stop."

Truthfully, I totally forgot I even had a blog for my miniatures work. So, time to dust off the shelves and get to work!
 
Yes, I have started painting again. This time with the purpose of playing the games that a lot of the miniatures I currently have around the house are used in...

Currently on my shelves are Infinity, Wild West Exodus, Malifaux, Hordes and Heavy Gear Blitz along with plenty of player character type miniatures for D&D/Pathfinder. I'm awaiting my Kickstarter for Mantic's Warpath sometime soon, but the less said about Mantic at this moment the better.

To tell you the truth, I really like the so-called "starter sets" I am seeing for the skirmish level miniature games. They are a great way to get a feel for the game without investing a ton of cash and time into doing a large army.

In fact, I still have my eye on picking up the Wrath of Kings starter set hopefully this holiday season if I've got the cash. Some of the miniatures, to me, are very reminiscent of Rackham's Confrontation line, and should be an interesting challenge to paint. Guild Ball may be a possibility down the road, but that remains to be seen.

As much as I loathe and despise GW, I still hold out hope for a Mordheim revival someday...

Anyway, I'll be posting more here and linking it to the Jesterspeed Studios Facebook page as well.