Ben's Bits n Bobs

[Mr. M]

It might be a bit of work, but you might be able to disguise the round prongs/nubs (whatever they're called) by gluing a big mess of wires and plastic straws over them. You could try weaving the wires between the prongs, or just put a bunch of them running straight across the front. That way you'll have the smooth lower wall, a layer of ceiling-level wires and conduits, and then the shim on top. If you curl the wires at either end of the block, they should look like they're disappearing into the wall when you put two blocks together.

Also, on the mask/respirator issue - I had to do some OSHA (occupational safety & health) training a few years ago and the instructor mentioned that most masks & respirators don't work properly if you have a beard. Just something else to keep in mind when thinking about hobby PPE.

 

[Ben_S]

It might be a bit of work, but you might be able to disguise the round prongs/nubs (whatever they're called) by gluing a big mess of wires and plastic straws over them. You could try weaving the wires between the prongs, or just put a bunch of them running straight across the front. That way you'll have the smooth lower wall, a layer of ceiling-level wires and conduits, and then the shim on top. If you curl the wires at either end of the block, they should look like they're disappearing into the wall when you put two blocks together.

This is the kind of look I'm going for. I'm not fussed about completely hiding the pegs. The walkways need to be supported by something, after all. But I wanted to fill some of the resulting gap with wires and pipes, just because I thought that would look better than an empty space.

Possibly this is more effort than it's worth though, especially since I haven't figured out what to do with the ends of each block. At the moment, I only have pipes in the middle and leave the ends to the imagination. I'm afraid I don't really follow the curling suggestion.

I'm thinking that maybe adding some bits of sprue into the gap would help to partly fill it, but I haven't tried this yet.

 

[MedMos]

I like the grey look as well. If graffiti is out, a bunch of printed posters from the vault might add that variety? Very cheap and easy!

 

[Ben_S]

Lack of updates due to not having a functioning camera, or I would have had some bits to post.

I converted and painted some proxy wraith knights for Frostgrave:

View media item 80929
The models are Fire Forge Scandinavians. I carved out the faces, to make them look like empty helmets.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

That works really well, love how they look!

 

[SuboptimusPrime]

If it had been me (which it wasn't, yet I am running my mouth) I would have given them a bit of grime and rust, to make them look more, well, undead. When they're all clean like that, they look more like a brigade of invisible men than wraiths to me. But then again, the original frostgrave minis also don't look very undead, so never mind me.

Besides, the effect works real well either way.

 

[spafe]

to make them look like empty helmets.

Tick! you have achieved this brilliantly!

 

[Ben_S]

they look more like a brigade of invisible men than wraiths to me.

I'm not too sure what exactly they're supposed to be, but I don't think of them as the armour of long-dead warriors. Maybe I should have thought of this though.

 

[Ben_S]

Ok, @=][=SW1=][= wanted to know how Stargrave models compare to the old Necromunda metals. I was kind of curious too, so I dug through my old stuff for a size comparison picture:

View media item 81075
As you can see, I never painted my old stuff back in the 1990s. Well, it does have paint on it, but only one colour. (If 'three colour minimum' was a thing back then, I'd never heard of it.)

Left-to-right we have:
1. Cawdor leader.
2. Stargrave crew. Note that he's on a lower base.
3. Orlock ganger.
4. Stargrave mercenary, done as proxy Van Saar. I put an extra base under his, to make him roughly level with the GW bases.
5. Ratskin brave.

I hope this helps.

 

[=][=SW1=][=]

Ok, @=][=SW1=][= wanted to know how Stargrave models compare to the old Necromunda metals. I was kind of curious too, so I dug through my old stuff for a size comparison picture:

View media item 81075
As you can see, I never painted my old stuff back in the 1990s. Well, it does have paint on it, but only one colour. (If 'three colour minimum' was a thing back then, I'd never heard of it.)

Left-to-right we have:
1. Cawdor leader.
2. Stargrave crew. Note that he's on a lower base.
3. Orlock ganger.
4. Stargrave mercenary, done as proxy Van Saar. I put an extra base under his, to make him roughly level with the GW bases.
5. Ratskin brave.

I hope this helps.

This really does help, thanks!!!

Going to pick up some to add variety.

The Stargrave Crew 2 female sprue looks good and there's a few spare heads.

Was trying to decide if I could mix in some crew with catachan and GSC bits to make some custom gang.

 

[Ben_S]

The Stargrave Crew 2 female sprue looks good and there's a few spare heads.

It is good, but do note that the females are slightly smaller than the males. I assume that's deliberate and it looks fine with just Stargrave models, but it would mean a bigger difference compared to GW models.

I don't have any GW models here, but these pics show the differences between SG males and females.

View media item 78248
View media item 77971

 

[=][=SW1=][=]

That's fine. I'm looking at cobbling several kits together to have a mix of heights rather than all being exactly the same height.

 

[Ben_S]

Those with long memories may recall some Christmas-themed pieces that I made last year. I thought I'd add to them this year.

First, I saw a little sleigh in The Works (here: https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/wooden-crafts/white-wooden-sleighs-pack-of-2/5052089310551.html). They come in white, so I had to repaint it brown.

Second, I bought some little counting cubes which I intend to make into present-style treasure tokens. I've glued some paper round them to look like a ribbon.

View media item 82023

 

[Ben_S]

I've not had much hobby mojo of late, but I'm hoping to put something together for the current comp. The theme is making something from toys, so here are some materials...

View media item 82814
I got a bunch of pick 'n' mix cheap toy animals while on summer holiday. I think they were 3 for £1, if memory serves, which is a great price, especially with the option to choose exactly what combination I wanted.

I hadn't done anything with them yet, partly due to not being sure how to base them. But I found some domino tiles in Poundland - one pictured - that might work as bases. (Are there bonus Yakpoints for basing my toys on other toys?)

I'm still not sure whether I'll manage anything more ambitious but, if all else fails, I bought a couple of cheap not-Jenga sets yesterday. They turned out to be £2 each, but still not a bad price I guess. I figure I can make some quick and easy terrain.

 

[Ben_S]

Though I did start fiddling around with the toy bits above, I didn't get very far before the Oathmark goblin slaves - which I'd pre-ordered from Northstar around Hallowe'en - turned up, so I got distracted building scavvies. Here are some of them, in the very colourful pre-wash stage of painting:

View media item 83297
In the first batch, I did quite a few without guns. These models I could use for Necromunda, Stargrave, Xenos Rampant, etc but also in fantasy games too if needed. I'll add a few more guns into later batches, though the first one I built that way was a bit of a pain.

 

[Ben_S]

Not the best picture, but the best I could manage tonight. I wanted it in time for the FYSC cut-off. That said, though they are finished, in the sense of game-ready, I'm not sure whether to add some more - perhaps try to vary the skin tones or add some dirt to their clothes.

View media item 83383

 

[Chaos Moomin]

Some mud spatters flicked onto their lower halves with a stiff brush would be just the thing, I reckon.

 

[Ben_S]

I decided that I would add some more detail, and make a few more...

View media item 83772
On the left, one of the original batch, with dirt (stippled rather than flicked) onto his clothes and a green glaze over his skin.

On the right, two of the new second batch, nearly but not quite finished.

I'm not sure about building a horde of scavvies this way. I think each individual looks fine, but as a collection they're perhaps too uniform. I may need to ponder this further.

The other thing that I was pondering was adding scalies. I know some people use orc nobz as base models. I do have some of those somewhere, but I was wondering whether regular boyz - like the one shown here - would work.

He's barely taller than the scavvies (though he would be if he stood up straight). The descriptions I've seen emphasise the breadth of scalies, rather than their height. He definitely ticks the box on that front I think.

 

[Halbling]

The scavvies look very nice in my opinion. I don't see them looking too uniform. Did you think about converting lizardmen to scalies? They are reptilians after all, therefore I would choose them over orc boyz. I have a couple of 4th/5th edition saurus warrios lying around and could send them over the channel, if you want to try it with them.

 

[Ben_S]

Did you think about converting lizardmen to scalies? ... I have a couple of 4th/5th edition saurus warriors lying around and could send them over the channel, if you want to try it with them.

Thanks for the kind offer, but I probably have some of those somewhere anyway. I like the style of the old saurus more than the newer ones, but they are rather dated now. I did previously convert some of the newer saurus to scalies but, like I said, I'm not so keen on their style.