Sauron

The Dark Lord himself, an imposing figure of shadow and death wrapped in armor with the One Ring blazing away on his finger, reaching down to slay Isildur at the height of his power, the moment before his defeat.  

I've owned this mini for literally decades. I bought it when it was originally released. Last year I decided I was finally going to paint it, and added it to my "to do" shelf. Then I didn't get around to it. This year, I finally did. It's honestly such a beautiful sculpt that it practically paints itself... but first, assembly. 

Sauron is a solid metal mini, and the connection points for the head and arms are both flat. Not ideal for such a heavy mini, and just asking to be knocked over and have an arm or 2 snap off. So out with the pin vice and wire, and make sure that The Dark Lord is solidly assembled. 

I primed Sauron with Stynalrez Metal Tone primer, a favorite of mine when the weather is too cold to spray prime, and also a great base layer for the armor. 

The cape I painted first with Reaper's Red Liner paint mixed with Brown Liner. I washed it with black wash, then did pure Red Liner, followed up with some highlights using Asmodeus Red, washed that with black wash, and then more Asmodeus Red mixed with some Cloudy Grey... followed by yet another black wash. Are you seeing a theme? 

For the armor, I highlighted the armor tone primer with Shadowed Steel, followed by yet more Black Wash. I repeated the highlight and then used a Numinara Rust wash splotched on to add a little more color. 

Finally the One Ring I painted first with Asmodeus Red, and then with Dwarven Gold, and teeny tiny highlights of Dragon Gold. I then went back and added just a bit of the Asmodeus Red to the shadows of the helm.

As seems to be a theme this year, I haven't done anything with his base. He deserves more than just some sand, but I haven't decided what yet. So here he is, finished, but not based.

Making Mirkwood Trees for your tabletop games

I decided a while back that what I desperately needed for my game board is enough trees to make a forest. This was a silly thought as I haven't played a tabletop game in months. Nevertheless I decided to embark on this project, and so watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos, and dug through my terrain making books, and settled on making them with aluminum foil. This decision was based in part on the fact that it was a material I had plenty of, was cheap, and easy to work with. 

Then I needed to figure out how many trees to make. I set up my playing space and pulled out my 2" bases. It took about 18 to convincingly fill a 3*3 play area. 

The final decision at this point was to decide how tall I wanted the trees. Using Sir Forscale, I settled on a 4 to 6 inch range to make the trees feel big enough, but not so large that they would totally dominate the board even if there were just a few. 

 

Please note there is nothing in this tutorial that can't be found elsewhere, but this has the advantage of not being a video!

It was time to start making the trees. I pulled out sheets of foil and started wrapping. 

 

I started with about a 14-16 inch long piece of foil, which I then folded...

  

 

And started wrapping. Why 14-16 inches? Because as I twist the foil, it gets smaller, so that by the time I'm done the tree fits in the 4-6 inch total height that I was looking for.

 

 

Then I'd take another sheet and wrap it around the first to bulk up the trunk, and start to make the branches (not pictured). I then used hot glue to stick it to a 2" base. Sometimes I'd stick the second sheet of foil in the folds of the main trunk before I did the wrapping. Honestly, there was a lot of experimentation in making these, which resulted in a lot of different tree shapes. 

The nice thing about working with foil like this, is that if a spot needed bulking out, or filled in, or whatever, it was easy enough to take an extra bit of foil and wrap, stuff, and glue it where it needed to go.

 

 

I then took a sheet of foil and made one long roll, and cut it into small pieces to serve as roots, and glued them to the trees and bases.  Some roots were small, but I made some really twisty and large. After that, I used the glue gun to put a layer of hot glue all over the trees, both to seal the foil and to make some texture. I missed some spots, and others ended up smoother than I'd have liked, but the variety makes for a more interesting, and even more realistic set of trees. 

 

 

Then it was time to paint. I mixed black craft paint with Mod Podge and gave every tree a thick coat. Then I went back and gave them a second coat, cause some spots didn't cover the first time. 

 

 

Then I realized I forgot to texture the bases. So I did that, using a mix of sand and gravel. Then painted the bases with the same mod podge and paint mix. If I am ever to add more trees to my forest, or make another one, I'll remember to add the ground cover before I prime them.

 

 

Then it was time to add some real color. I started with a heavy brush of craft smart (Michaels brand) chocolate brown, followed by a nutmeg brown, and then a dry brush of antique white.  

 

 

You'll note I didn't make any smaller branches. My initial plan was to add foliage to these trees, so I only needed the main branches to hold it. You'd never see the smaller ones. 

 

But once I was done, I started to think that they look good like this. And maybe they'd work better as dead spooky mirkwood style trees. While I was still deciding on the foliage, I used some green and purple paints to splotch on some color. and gave the trees another final dry brush of the antique white. The green and purple are only a little noticeable if you're really looking for it, but it adds some more visual depth to the trees that made the effort worth it.

 

You have to admit this looks pretty good. The bark texture is way overstated and looks delightfully diseased. This is not a healthy forest by any stretch of the imagination.

The trees are wonderfully flexible. I can dump the lot of the from the table to the floor and they're going to bounce. My toddler can manhandle them, and they survive just fine. The biggest danger is them popping off the bases, but you have to work really hard to make that happen. 

I do think I'll do 1 or 2 more "character" type trees. I'm especially thinking about one tree growing over a dungeon entrance, maybe a gulthias tree? And the other I'm thinking off is more of an evil grandmother willow type tree with a face. We'll see if and when I get around to ever making those.

ReaperCon Wrap-up

My second ReaperCon has come to an end. The bags are unpacked. The pictures uploaded. The swag put away.

While it's only my second ReaperCon, that feeling of coming to a family reunion full of people you actually like and have things in common with only felt stronger than it did last year. Even more so, since I've been spending a lot of time hanging out and painting with a bunch of them on Google Hangouts.


Wednesday was flying in, and attending the meet and greet at the convention center, followed by staying up way too late at the firepit!









Thursday and Friday I ended up spending most of the time painting, desperately trying to finish my entry. I did, though only with a half an hour till the entry deadline...

Buglips getting his first taste of Taco Bell!

Saturday I took Fluid Filled Objects as my class for the day. It was a great class, and I'll be practicing the technique going forward. It's interesting how I don't think I learned something new exactly, just learned a new way to look at painting and a way to tweak techniques I already know. Or at least know in theory... Definitely need practice though.



I also played some Lord of the Rings SBG. The guy running it had set up a Laketown scenario with the 13 dwarves defending the townsfolk from an attacking Kraken. The things you come up with when you have a cool mini and no other use for it... I also spent a fair amount of time enjoying the small arcade that had been set up. The Ghostbusters pinball machine was particularly challenging and a lot of fun.






Saturday night the results of the painting contest were announced. Rather than judge the dragonborn sorceress, they went with the King in Yellow that I'd only just finished painting. I got Bronze again, but from what the judges said I'm getting closer to a silver. Kuro Cleanbrush said that if I can get the rest of the mini up to the level of the robe, I'll be good! Goals for next year.. I'll admit, I was a little bummed, but super happy for my friends who did amazing work.

Sunday I took Red & Yellow Leather and Monster Skin tones. Because Sunday is a shorter day, the afternoon classes start earlier than they do the other days, so I showed up late to the leather class, much to my shame. There were only 2 other students, so the teacher was able to give me the condensed version without taking away from the others. I haven't painted with sponges or stippling on a mini ever, so I got to practice 2 new techniques, which both gave good results for distressed leather. Monster skin tones was interesting, and was the class I took the most notes in. It's also the one that I'm going to have to digest the most. Of the 3 classes, this was the most advanced. The other 2 were very much "here's how to achieve this one effect" while Monster Skin was much more theory based with examples showing a whole lot of different things.

One class I didn't attend this year was the Bones Conversion class. However Reaper Bryan (who taught at least one session of it this year) dropped this former paladin, now sith lady at my table, and I managed to get a bit of paint on it before we wrapped up.

After the classes wrapped they held the auction. Unlike other auctions, you could only use funny money at this one, specifically Reaper Bucks which are earned by attending various events throughout the Con. I managed to snag some modular mini display/transport cases, and I got to snag 1/4 of a set of faction pint glasses that a friend won. Sadly my faction, The Bonehenge Covenant lost this year, and won't be returning next year, which means this was the last time I'd be able to get a glass with their symbol.

After the auction it was back to the hotel, and then to the steak place for one last group meal. We thought ahead this time and made a reservation for 30 instead of just showing up en masse and waiting for an entire section to clear out. We should have made the reservation for 40...

And then it was time to go home. I managed to hitch a ride to the airport once again with Matbar as she was heading home, giving me a few extra minutes of ReaperFamily time until next year.

Review: The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug

Yesterday morning we went to see The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug 3D HFR. The reviews I've seen have been all over the place. Those who loved the LotR trilogy, and the first Hobbit movie loved this one. Those who love the book tend to be upset by the movie. They don't appreciate the deviations made by Peter Jackson.

I get that.

It's hard to see something that you love, and have loved for years taken by someone else and changed, and shown in a way that doesn't match what you've imagined every time you think about it. Peter Jackson was never going to get that right.

For the rest of us, who are willing to accept that the Hobbit movies are different in so many ways from the book, because it has to be, you'll probably enjoy it. The dividing line between the children's story that is The Hobbit, and the epic that is the Lord of the Rings is a hard one to bridge given how different they are in tone, but I think Peter Jackson pulls it off.

As with The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey, I never noticed the length of the movie. Getting to see even more of Middle Earth, from Bree to Laketown, Erebor and the Woodland Realm, Dol Gildur and Mirkwood. As far as I'm concerned, just getting to see the scenes of life in these locals was worth the price of admission.

The addition of Legolas and Tauriel mostly felt like unnecessary filler. I didn't dislike it, and the eyecandy was nice, but it didn't really add anything worth having to the movie. Do we really need an elf-dwarf-elf love triangle? No, we don't. Couldn't we just have some mutual respect and friendship develop, as between Gimli and Legolas?

The scenes in Laketown with Bard and the Master were fantastic. Stephen Fry and Luke Evens really brought the characters to life, and the sets and extras made Laketown feel real. Corrupt, hard living, but real.

The real star of the show was Smaug. I'd been wondering how well I was going to like him, given how picky I am about what dragons look like. I needn't have worried. While Peter Jackson went with the wings being a part of the forelegs, Smaug looked not only great for a dragon, but like one that truly fit in with everything else we've seen in Middle-Earth.

Overall I give The Desolation of Smaug 4/5 dragons. It wasn't perfect, but there was a lot that I loved, and waiting a year for the final chapter is going to be rough...

A long long adventure with The Hobbit

I went to see The Hobbit in 3-D 48fps again on Sunday. Loved it even more the second time around. I kind of want to see it again every weekend while I still can, because even when it comes out on DVD, it's not going to be in the format Peter Jackson made it.

A long long adventure with hobbit by breathing2004

Review: The Hobbit IMAX 3-D 48fps

I've already written my review of The Hobbit, but now I’ve now seen it in both 2-D 24fps and IMAX 3-D 48fps, and I have to say that as much as I’ve generally been unimpressed by 3-D (Avatar I’m looking at you) I thought it was put to good use by Peter Jackson. It wasn't used as a gimmick, but rather to make the world of Middle-Earth that much more real. Honestly, except for a few spots, I didn't even notice the 3-D effects, which as far as I can tell means that it was successful.

The 48fps on the other hand I thought was fantastic! The opening of the movie, as old Bilbo walked through Bag End was so clear and sharp that I felt like I was walking along with him. Some reviews have complained that it took away some of the magic of the movie. I felt the opposite. Being able to see the details made the whole thing, including the fantastical elements, more real. 

One element I didn't note in my initial review was that I really liked the slight redesign to the wargs. The initial effort in the Lord of the Rings movies to give them hyena elements didn't work for me as much as the more wolfish appearance here did. 

The armor of the Rivendale elves was pretty cool too. The deep red and gold worked really well, especially when seen in context with the armor from the second age, and the armor worn by the elves at Helms Deep. I wish we could have seen more of it as they hunted the warg riders. 

If you haven't seen it yet, and you have the option, I would highly recommend seeing it in IMAX 3-D, 48fps as Peter Jackson intended.

I can't wait to see what special features show up on the DVD. 

Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Last night I went and saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

It was good, really really good! I was a little worried when I heard the they were making it into 3 movies, especially after how bloated King Kong was. Then, after people started seeing it, there was talk about it being overly long and boring, to the point where The Onion wrote a story about the 53 minute long scene of Bilbo packing.

I didn't notice it being overly long, slow, or boring. It isn't the fast paced adventure/fairy tale story of the book. Rather, it's very much in line with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, both in the scenes Peter Jackson decided to add, and the things he glossed over. I was really pleased, and honestly would have been thrilled to see more. Getting to see a dwarven city, I mean I thought Ironforge from World of Warcraft was pretty impressive when I first saw it, and it's nothing as compared to Erebor!

Another thing I wanted more of was the Dale. The few seconds we really get to see it hint tantalizingly at the sort of place it is, and I know there was so much there on the screen that I didn't get to see or focus on that I can't wait to see it again, and to have it on DVD, and to watch all the extra features...

We saw the 2D, 24fps version. It was pretty clear on a few scenes that it was not a movie designed for 2D, and I'm looking forward to the 3D 48fps version that we'll be seeing tomorrow.I'll let you know my impressions on Monday.

Overall I would give the Hobbit 8.5/10. If you liked the Lord of the Rings movies, then you'll like The Hobbit. If you loved extended versions, and watched all the extra features, you'll love The Hobbit.

What's it like to be a dwarf?

Richard Armitage, the actor who plays Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit, did an interview recently where he talked about what it was like to be a dwarf. This particular quote struck me as being exactly what being a dwarf is all about:

The one thing I didn’t expect was the fact that we were going to be bigger. When we get into costume, we’re all massive. So these dwarves are huge. I was a bigger version of myself. I was taller and wider than I am (obviously, because Pete shrinks you on the computer). I always thought that I would be small, but I was big. But it was very useful, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but in retrospect, it’s become clear that the growth in size has really helped to form this subconscious ego that I think dwarves have.

When you look at the designs for Erebor, it looks like Mount Rushmore. They built massive monuments to themselves, they accumulate huge amounts of wealth, they think a lot of themselves because they are a forbidden race. They are secondary to elves in the Legendarium.

Without allegory (because Tolkien is just not interested in it), it’s possible that they are like the Jewish people of Nazi Germany. I don’t think Tolkien intended that at all, but that’s how they feel. There’s a pride to them that’s like, “We will not be defeated. We will go back to our homeland and we will reclaim what was taken from us.”

Dwarves build huge underground complexes because dwarves are big!

I'm so looking forward to seeing The Hobbit tonight!

Quick poll - are you going to see it this weekend?

Dwarf Cheat Sheet

While I'm not going to get to see it till tomorrow night, I wanted to make sure you knew your dwarves, before the Hobbit is released tonight at midnight.

this might help. There's also a flowchart version.

Gondor defends Helm's Deep from Rohan?

Boromir and Faramir on one of their weekend binges were out causing trouble. This time we find our “heroes” in Rohan. It turns out that Helm’s Deep had been left with the doors unlocked when the captains who were supposed to be standing guard went out to pick up more kegs of beer. When they got back and found the men of Gondor hanging out they decided to show them who’s really the boss of helms deep.

With Boromir and Faramir were Beregond and Damrod who were supposed to keep the brothers out of trouble, along with an assortment of knights, warriors and rangers.



Rohan’s captains brought with them 6 royal guard, a bunch of riders and warriors of rohan, as well as Ghân-buri-Ghân and some Woes.



Damrod, Beregond, and the rangers noted the coming of Rohan and alerted the rest of the troops who began to armor up. They took some pot shots at the oncoming force.

It wasn’t till several turns later, when the royal guard was about to knock on the front door that Boromir and Faramir came out to meet the former inhabitants of Helm’s Deep. In a fairly predictable outcome Boromir, Faramir and their knights overwhelm the royal guards.







In their drunken exuberance they surge forward into the rohan line. Unfortunately due to the small size of the gate the knights aren’t able to bring their full force to bear. This sadly resulted in Faramir getting knocked on the head and out of the fight, along with several of his buddies. Boromir, getting a little blue in the face from blowing his horn tried to get over to his brother, but kept being swarmed.



The knights finished trickling out of the gate and were swarmed by the men of Rohan and dragged off their horses. Even the mighty Boromir was dragged from his horse, not that he really noticed. He continued to toot his own horn and swing wildly at the men of Rohan around him. The warriors of Minas Tirith decided that they were not going to let Rohan back in, and so blocked up the gate.



Both Rohan and Gondor were getting worn out, and one ranger decided he’d had enough. The fighting continued on though.



Eventually everyone decided that it was just too damn hot to keep fighting that Rohan offered to bring in their kegs if Gondor let them back in. Boromir, tired from blowing his horn and swinging his sword thought this was a great idea. Grabbing the kegs everyone went inside and partied the rest of the day away.












 

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As expected, this weeks game was the iconic Two Towers scenario of Helm's Deep.  One player would defend, the other attack. The objectives of the attacker were to breach the gate or the Deeping Wall and end the game with forces inside Helm's Deep.   The defender was to keep the attacker out, and to have forces outside of Helm's Deep.  Once again Mike was the only LotR player who came on Wednesday.  This time he brought his Rohan.  Since we're both playing good forces, we rolled off to see who would defend the Hornburg.  I "won" that roll.  However after 3 turns of farting around, waiting for him to come and break down the door, I decided to ride out.

Unlike last game, where my knights were able to hit en masse, I was hitting piecemeal, and he was able to wrap around and trap my knights as they arrived.  I broke first, but between Boromir and Damrod I managed to keep all but one ranger on the table.  2 turns later I broke the Rohan force.  A further turn or two passed and we started to roll off to see if the game would end.  We ended up slogging through 3 more turns before the dice ended the game.  We were just about matched for points, and he hadn't breached the wall or the gate, whereas I had troops outside the gate (barely), so I won!  Like last week I earned 3 more league points (for playing, winning, and achieving my scenario objective).

I have no idea what I'm going to do for the last game.  I need to add 250 more points, and I don't have that for Gondor, at least not unless I just add characters.  I may end up allying in some Rohan, which would fit in with this weeks battle report!!