This is the final video of my series on army archtypes. It combines all the previous designs to create a “general/all-comer” style list
Archive for March, 2011
Part 2, or ‘Paint It, and They Will Look Even Cooler.’
You can find Part 1 of this tutorial – ‘Base Building Basics’ here!
So, you now have the basic knowledge on how to build a few different kinds of bases, with a few basic materials. Now, how do we go about making them as beautiful as the models you’ve spent so much time painting? Well, for one, more paint! We won’t need much more than what was listed in Part 1 of Base Building Basics; water effects (I used Vallejo – Still Water for our Swamp base), some tall ‘Field Grass’ (from Woodland Scenics), and a few minor things from the Army Painter – Battlefields range. The only thing that is really essential that I didn’t mention in part 1 is the water effects. You can build beautiful bases without these extra supplies, but every bit always helps! There were a few things that we have to do before we get to painting up our bases, and these small steps will require at least an hour or two of waiting before we can move onto the painting. Let’s quickly go over what we’ll need to do to prep our bases for paint. All of the paints used in this article are Formula P3 colours, unless mentioned otherwise.
Working from left to right, the Cracked Earth Base was scrubbed with soap and water using a toothbrush to remove any vaseline residue. It then received a liberal coat of primer, as putty doesn’t take paint very well; it tends to slide all over the place. The Lava Break-up was covered in three layers of pure white glue to smooth out the sand. You want smooth edges between the grains, the reason which becomes evident as we begin painting. Don’t cover the top with glue, as that part can remain rough. However, after finishing the bases, I found that the Lava Break-up could have been left bare on the top to give it a more rock-like appearance, which would have looked much better. The Rock n’ Flock cork was given an even coating of 50/50 white glue water mix only on the cork. This is to seal the pores in the cork, and to act as a primer for our paint. Acrylic will adhere very well to white glue, so primer was only needed for the Cracked Earth base. If you want to prime your bases, go ahead, just make sure you seal any cork with a mix of white glue and water before you do.
The Lava Flow(left) was given a white glue and water seal over the cork, and more pure white glue was added to the ‘lava’ after each layer was dry. It took four layers of glue before the thickness was appropriate enough to hide the edges on our lava bubbles and fill almost to the lip of the base. The Forest (right) base was given the same white glue/water coverage over the cork, and the stick. The resin tree stump and putty mushrooms were brushed with a black primer. Again, feel free to prime the entire base if you’re using a spray.
The Junk Pile base (left) was given the same treatment of all of our cork bases; 50/50 white glue/water. The metal and styrene bits were brushed with some primer. The Swamp base (right) needed more sand in the bottom to get good coverage over the clear bottom. More white glue was brushed into the deep parts, and shaken in the tub of sand. I added two more layers of sand to make sure it was good and solid.
One of the most important aspects of making your models look their best is very often overlooked. A well-done, scenic base can add a lot to all the hard work you put into your paint jobs, and can really make characters, and unique personalities stand out on the battlefield. Not only does it make them look better, but it will help you and your opponent identify who’s important on the table at a quick glance. A creative base will assist in setting a time and place for your models as well, which will give the viewer a sense of place, time, and situation that the model is in when captured in sculpture. Think of a scenic base the background of a photo; without the Eiffel Tower in the background, it’s not Paris; it’s just another city. Painting your models to look like they belong in a forest is one thing, but making them look they’re actually in a forest is entirely another.
What we will cover in this first part of the article, is building and constructing many different thematic bases. I will cover several kinds of bases; Standard Rock n’ Flock, Lava Break-up, Lava Flow, Forest, Cracked Earth, Junk Pile, and Swamp. I didn’t want to focus on only one kind of base for this article. Since a wide array of several, simple, and easy to make base building basics could cover a good portion, if not all, of the different kinds of basing that would help anyone build a base for nearly all of the factions across Warmachine, and Hordes. I hope to give the reader enough understanding of basic basing that they will be able to create any number of base types after we’re through. A lot of these bases can be slightly modified to create even more types of thematic basing, but with these basics covered, feel free to let your imagination run wild. The Swamp base can be slightly modified to make water, lakes, or streams. The Junk Pile can be modified to build wreck markers, or sewage drain pipes…there’s a lot you can do with a few simple techniques under your belt, and that’s what we’re going to go over in detail.
Part 1, or ‘Build It, and They Will Look Cool.’
I have decided to build 7 differing bases; Three Small, 30mm bases, Two medium, 40mm Bases, and Two 50mm, Large Bases.
First, we’ll need some materials;
1. Cork Tiles, Thin and Thick, which can be found at Michael’s or any craft store for very little. I have three 1′x1′ thick tiles I’ve been using for two years, and haven’t even gone through a single whole tile. It’s a pretty good deal for less than 5 bucks.
2. A bits collection. I save everything from my models. I have three baby food jars with sticks, twigs, brass rods and tubes, styrene beams, rocks, old model parts, and extras. Reaper makes several kits of adventurer supplies, treasures and more, which are excellent for basing, and kit-bashing.
3. Static Grass, Fine Leaf Foliage, and some Clump Foliage, all made by Woodland Scenics. I use Games Workshops pre-mixed static grass; Scorched Grass, and Glade Grass blends. It’s more expensive, but it comes in pre-made blends, and two tubs will last years if you’re only using it for basing models. The larger Woodland Scenics containers are more economical if you’re building terrain, or tables.
4. Some CA Glue, and some White Glue. There is little difference in brands of CA glue; I use an extra thick formula because it stays where I put it. Any thinner, and it tends to run all over the place (thin CA glues have an odd attraction to fingers….). I use Mod Podge for my white glue. It’s a craft glue that can be found in large plastic jars that will last for years, and can be thinned very easily. It’s really cheap too.
5. And lastly, some modelling sand. Again, I use Games Workshops modelling sand, because it has a good variety of sizes pre-mixed in the tub. Woodland Scenics is more economical, but doesn’t come pre-mixed in differing sizes. A tub of GW stuff will last years if you’re only using it for basing.
In this episode I will give a brief critique of the Forces of Hordes: Circle book. Then I discuss the army design and play style of the Control & Denial army type.
Many people have used future floor finish or one of its counter parts for use as a flow release agent by breaking the surface tension of the paint it is added to. However this tends to cause a glossy finish much like Inks produced by many miniature games companies.
Over the last few years I’ve switched over to using a proper acrylic flow release agent, and I must say I am very pleased with the results.
Acrylic flow release is meant to be diluted in a flow release to water mixture of 1:10 to 1:20. For the rest of this article I’m going to refer to the mixture in any form as “flow release”
A 1:10 ratio I use most often when I want to dilute acrylic colors down to use as an ink. The more flow release you add to the color you’re using the more it caused the color to become translucent and breaks the surface tension of the paint causing it to flow down into the creases.
A 1:20 ratio is great for diluting paints to achieve thin semi opaque layers known as a wash, when used in this way you can layer level upon level of paint achieving a smooth blending transition. However you need to leave a bit of extra drying time unless you’re planning to use the wash in more of a wet blending procedure.
A lot of players sometimes use pennies, glass beads, or other home-made tokens when playing Warmachine or Hordes. Gale Force 9 used to make Warcaster specific sets, and Privateer Press made and designed their own token sets for Hordes. Since the advent of MKII, PP has produced sets for both games, and a specific set for each faction. I’ll touch briefly on the pros and cons of the previous sets, and make comparisons between those older sets, and the newer sets. What I hope the reader will gain, is an understanding that the new PP token sets are a very well thought out, and well designed product for the largest amount of brevity of any token set I’ve seen released since I started playing Warmachine four years ago.
I’ll touch briefly on the older token sets, so anyone new to the game can gain some insight on what we used to use for tracking in-game effects, focus/fury, spells, and so-on. This should enable you to at least make an educated decision which of the tokens are best for you, worth spending the money on, and if they are an improvement over the older sets from MKI and Warcogs/claws.
My second episode about specific army archetypes will cover Infantry Horde Armies.
Kiko of Penny-Arcade fame recently made some wonderful blast guides to share with the warmachine community at large. and I wanted to take the time to make sure they had some more exposure to the warmachine community.
Use the images in this document as a guide to more accurately decide whether surrounding units are affected by direct hit blasts. These are not templates -Kiko
Click here to go directly to the Warmachine AOE Blast Guide
OR
Click here to access The Order Flow: Warmachine & Hordes reference materials
Over-thinking, Inc. – “We think about this game constantly, so you don’t have to!”
Hello All!
I am OrsusSmash, and you may have seen me around the Privateer Press forums under the same name. I have been playing Warmachine for five years (starting during Apotheosis,) and Hordes since its introduction. I have also recently started playing Malifaux, though our group is still getting the hang of the system (reason #1 why I can’t wait to get a hold of the new Rules Manual for that game, but I digress.)
“Well OrsusSmash, that’s an awful nice wargaming biography, and your beard is particularly impressive. But what does that have to do with me?”
I’m very happy you asked. First, take one of my complimentary brochures on beard care. Second, there’s a reason I wanted to qualify my experience a bit.
Over the coming months, I’ll be providing my thoughts and insights on tactics that are high level enough to apply to all armies, but are still important to understand if one wants to elevate their level of play (casually or competitively.) I’ll also be sharing tactics and strategy for Khador (my first love) and Legion (the sexy weekend fling) as we go along as well, though the more faction specific articles will be located in our soon-to-be-growing Training Grounds. By keeping the general concepts out here, I’m hoping that players of every faction (and game system, as many of these concepts apply regardless of what you’re playing,) will find useful information here.
That said, my references (and some of the concepts) will usually be more Warmachine/Hordes oriented, as I’m a die-hard lover of what Privateer Press has put together. When appropriate, I will try to qualify if the topic I am discussing is general, Warmachine/Hordes centric, etc.
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The first in a series of video articles that will cover some general army builds/types. This first one focuses upon armies designed around models with lots of ARM and hit boxes.
Tank Army Part 1
