This is it folks! The Storm Wardens finish line is near. The drawing will be held THIS SUNDAY at 2pm EST live on Jawaballs Live! and you get to watch it. Join us for a special presentation of Jawaballs Live! at 2pm Eastern Standard Time. Jawaballs Live! is a weekly show that is broadcast live every Wednesday at 6pm EST.

But we are not just giving away an army. There is a list of loot to be given away as well!

A customized deck of cards and patch donated by Bolter and Chainsword

An Airbrush
A Forge World Eldar Vampire kit
Deamon Prince & codex
Secret Weapon $50 credit
2 games day tickets
and more!

The final loot list will be posted before the show, but at any rate, you don’t want to miss this! Simply come to Ustream.tv by CLICKING HERE and join the fun. I suggest you register for the site and create a screen name. You do not need to attend the live show to win the prizes. But why not be there! The show sould take about half an hour. Members of the Storm Wardens build team will be in the live chat as well to answer questions about the project.

We are happy to announce that this project has collected

$16,107.00

for Doctors Without Borders

Terranscape has a beautiful set of modular river pieces available to wargamers. Currently, there are 12 different ones available. The pieces range from 6” to 12” long, and 3” to 5” wide.
The river pieces have a very natural feel to them. The banks vary in width and have nicely detailed rocks embedded alongside them. Another aspect I like is that the side profile is very low, which prevents it from looking like two speed bumps holding in water.
The river is not only nice to look at but is very affordable. Prices start at $4 for an 8” (unfinished) piece. Terranscape also sells finished terrain pieces for not a whole lot more. The attention to detail on the finished pieces is great. The blend of ground foams and static grass along with various brushes and reeds makes the setting look very natural.

I received a set of these rivers and chose to finish it a bit differently to have it match my ice terrain. After a quick wash with soap and water I set the pieces aside to dry overnight.

I started by painting all of the river pieces. I dry brushed the ground work in various shades of brown and then painted in the water.

To make the ice, I mixed up a batch of clear resin and added some colouring to tint it.

pic22

This was then poured into a pan coated with mold release.

When the resin cured, I began to break it apart into smaller pieces.

Next, I glued these pieces to the river.

Then I applied vegetation matching my ice terrain to the sides of the river.

For snow, I used Woodland Scenics Soft Flake Snow. I mixed this up with PVA glue and water. I applied this mixture along the sides of the river and in between the cracks of ice.

After drying overnight, here are the finished pieces.

Review- Easy Mold Silicone Putty

http://www.eti-usa.com/index.html

Easy Mold Silicone Putty is a terrain maker’s dream come true. This product is ideal for making quick impression molds. There have been so many times I wished I could easily duplicate a part that I had made without going through the hassle of mixing up rubber and building a mold box.

The silicone putty retains excellent detail, does not shrink, and is very flexible. It is also non-toxic and can be used for food related applications.

The putty is very easy to use. Quickly mix equal parts A and B (work fast because you only have a 2-3 minute working time).

Press the putty onto the item you want to duplicate. Make sure you completely cover the item.

Set it aside to cure for 25 minutes.

After the putty has cured, remove the item and prepare the mold for casting. I sprayed the putty with Castin Craft Mold Release, which is an odorless and solvent free conditioner.

Then I mixed up a batch of Castin Craft Casting Resin and poured it into the mold. A handy chart on the back of the container will tell you how much catalyst to add per ounce of resin.

Once the resin cures you have an exact copy of the original part.

Easy Mold Silicone Putty is available in ½ lb. and 1lb. kits. Store it properly and it will keep for 6-9 months.

It is easy to use and very handy to have in stock. I would highly recommend adding this to your arsenal of tools.

Here are a couple of buildings i did for Privateer Press. The complete tutorial appears in No Quarter issue no. 31.

I finished my squad for the Storm Warden’s project!
Go here for pictures of he entire army.
http://stormwardens.blogspot.com/

A T-shirt, shoulder pads and bases just arrived in today’s mail.

My task for the Storm Wardens project is to complete a Tactical Squad. So I will be working on this for the next couple of days.

Table Top World Abandoned Factory

http://www.tabletop-world.com/

The Abandoned factory is a fantastic 15 piece polyurethane resin kit from Table Top World. The building is very realistic looking and has tons of character. The casting quality is very good, and the molds have captured the tiniest details. The wood grain and stone texture are very pronounced. Normally, I would expect to find some air bubbles where the rivets are, but on my piece there was none.

The first thing to catch my eye was the stonework. The lads at Table Top World build the master model stone by stone, and bypassed the easy route of using textured plastic sheets. There are even missing bricks and sagging sections along the walls, which really show the building’s age.

There was very minimal cleaning required, and all the pieces dry fit perfectly. After a quick wash, I let the pieces dry over night.
The building goes together very logically. There are clear demarcation lines for the ramp and smoke stack, and the pipes connect to the flange parts on the wall and boilers.

The kit gives you two options to attach to the pulley. You can either attach the bucket or the basket of ore. I opted for the bucket and drilled two holes to insert a piece of wire. Then I connected it to the pulley system.

The completed building measures approximately 8” X 6” X 8”. I should also mention, the windows of the building are filled in and can be painted to look like glass or left black. I used a rotary tool to remove the glass so I could light up the building. This building was fun to build and to paint. If you are a terrain collector like me I would highly recommend picking up one of these.

MIG Productions Rust and Soot/Dust

http://www.migproductions.com/

Over the past few years, there have been more companies offering pigments for sale. They have all been trying to capitalize on the success of Mig Productions’ comprehensive line of pigments, which has revolutionized the way many modelers finish their kits. The use of these pigments takes a bit of practice, but the end result is very realistic and would otherwise be hard to achieve using standard paints.
The pigments are a combination of organic and inorganic pigments which has been finely ground. There are no additional additives, which are usually found in other manufacturer’s products. The pigments are applied using a brush and can be mixed with any medium such as water, thinner, alcohol, acrylics, resin and turpentine (to name a few).
The pigments can be used for many weathering effects including rust, dust, soot, and mud etc… I’ve used them in a wide variety of projects, and have shown their use in several tutorials. In this article I will show you how to quickly achieve rust and soot effects.
To add rust effects to your models you will need the following MIG productions pigments:
P025 Standard Rust
P024 Light Rust
P031 Vietnam Earth

1. The basic technique we will be using to apply the pigments is brushing it on. The effect is best achieved with a matt surface. Also, if the model was painted using enamels, coat the surface with matt varnish prior to applying pigments.

2. First, brush Vietnam Earth onto the areas you want rust to be. Dust off any excess. If there is too much for your liking, you can continue to rub it off with your finger or a clean brush.

3. Next, apply a light coat of Standard Rust to the same areas.

4. Third, apply a dusting of Light Rust to the model. Try not to over-apply it.

5. At this point, it is still possible to adjust or redo the pigments if you are not happy with the look. Just wipe or dust off any excess and reapply. Since I mainly build scenery for table top war-games and not dioramas, my tendency is to over exaggerate the rust effects. I believe it looks more attractive on the tabletop.

6. When you are satisfied with the look, the pigments need to be fixed to the model. This is done by using MIG Productions Pigment Fixer. Dip a clean brush into the fixer and gently dab the areas where the pigment is on the model. When dry the pigment will be permanently attached to the model’s surface.

7. Speed up the fixer’s drying time by using a hair dryer.

8. The final result is a good-looking rusted surface.

To add soot and dust to your model, you will need the following MIG Production Pigments:
P039 Industrial City Dirt
P023 Black Smoke

1. In this example, I will be applying this effect to a old factory. I want the roof to look like it is covered in soot and dirt.

2. First, mix the Industrial City Dirt pigment with MIG Productions Thinner for Washes. This will produce a dark grey/ black wash. The pigment will not dry this colour. It will turn a light grey. Apply this wash to the model.

3. To give the appearance of soot, brush on the Black Smoke pigment. Follow the same procedure as the rust effect. Concentrate the pigment where you need the effect to be darker.

4. When you are satisfied, apply the pigment fixer.

5. The finished result.

AJS Metals Miniature Skulls

http://www.ajs-metals.com/

AJS Miniatures is owned by the famous Andy Slater of TerraGenesis fame.
These skulls work well for converting miniatures in the 28mm scale. They come 12 to a sprue and are cast in white metal. For Warmachine, it would be easy to do a head swamp and convert a miniature into a Cryx Thrall. For Warhammer 40K, the skulls could adorn the walls and doors of buildings.
These skulls are very handy to have and I would recommend adding them to your bits collection.