Krylon, I am done with you.

I have been a big fan of Krylon since I got into the hobby. they make a wide range of shades. Paint goes on easy and, as long as you don't get crazy with it, it does not obscure detail. I still love them as a primer but I am done with their clear coat. 

The Necron Tomb Blades fogged and I almost lost my mind. I thought I had it under control when the Battlewagon came up for priming but that fogged too. I thought that maybe it was something I was doing, so when it came time to clear coat the Flash Gits that I have been worming so hard on for such a long time, I was super-careful. I waited until the humidity was under 50%. I did a test model on a mini that I would not mind repainting and everything seemed to go well. I did a light coat on all the minis as a first pass and walked away for an hour to let it dry.

As I was spraying, I could see the clear coat fogging. I tried to fix it by putting it in front of a fan. no good. I tried giving a mini another blast of clear coat because that has worked in the past and still no joy. 

I have started repainting a few of the bits and minis, I am going to try to fix it with Testors dullcoat or another Krylon matt coat that I have used before. 

I could be something I am doing. I do have a habit to get the paint can really close to the minis when spraying, but I feel like I was doing a pretty good job this time. It could be the weather but I was sure that the conditions were prime (pun intended). If this paint is so temperamental that it can not function above 50% humidity then I can't use it. I may be the paint. It could be defective or old. Regardless, I am throwing it away. 

Finished - Kaptain and last of the Flas Gitz

Finally, the Gits are done. This was a monster project. In the time it took me to paint a single git, I could have painted 4 Space Marines. The bodies are the size of Nobz and take the same amount of time to paint, but their guns are huge and have layers of armor over them. Once that is done, then there are the thrice-damned back banners. So much detail everywhere.

I spent a little extra time on the Kaptain as is warranted by his station. I most often see people paint the trench coat model with a black coat but I wanted something ostentatious and nothing is more stone-cold pimpin than a purple coat. I really wish the gun did not cover up the front of the chest so it was more noticeable. 

Finished - Two more Flash Gitz

Only two more and Badrukk to go before all the Gitz get done. 

I got bored (and started to run out of) the interesting back banner bits for the Flash Gitz so I had to start improvising. I used a shield from the Feral Orks and a glyph and gunshield for make shift back banners. 

Other conversions include a scope for a Gitfinda and a terminator shoulder guard. I also experimented with konverting the gunz in decidely non-Chapter Approved ways. In addition to the power plant bits, I added extra muzzle bits to the opposite side of the gun for a exhaust port of sorts. I repositioned some bits to align in odd angles so that nothing on the gun was square. 

On the table now - Badrukk and IPA

 I can remember a time when I would unwind with video games or movies at home. These days, all I want to do with my free time is paint. Nothing is better than throwing on a podcast or Netflix and painting for 6 hours. 

Except maybe having a beer with it. 

I used to like stouts and porters, but have been gravitating toward IPAs lately. While mighty tasty, beer (and IPAs in particular) tend to have a high ABV. That makes it difficult to enjoy more than one and still have the manual dexterity to put paint to plastic. 

BEHOLD! Introvert Session IPA from Left Hand Brewery. Session beers are typically under 5.0% ABV as opposed to the 7.5% or higher for most IPAs. Some can have less flavor to go with the lower ABV, but not this one. This gives me everything that I want from an IPA but a manageable amount of alcohol.

My current project is the King of the Gitz, Badrukk. I got a resin one when I bought the big box of him and his boys, but recently picked up a metal one for a sing on Bartertown. I like metal character over resin ones so decided to paint the metal and sell the resin. 

Finished - Two More Flash Gitz

I am really excited to have these two Flash Gitz finished especially the one on the right. Not only does this give me a total of 7 Gitz, but I am super-pleased with how one of them came out. 

This is a story about converting and how a single bit can get you thinking about building a whole mini around it. It all started with the cigar bit. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to use it. Initially, I wanted to use it for the Kaptain as he smoked and directed his Krew while a few Grots carry and fire his giant Snazz Gun. This proved far too complex to pull off so I settled with using it on a Git. 

At some point I knew that he would need an ashtray. I wanted him lazily gunning down Beakies or Umies while ashing to a hand made ashtray set on his gun. Since he was smoking with one hand, this dictated that there would need to be a handle on the gun. Also, I didn't think it would be stable enough with one hand on the gun and the shoulder strap to keep the ashtray from sliding off. Also, I wanted to have the gun resting on the ground to add the lazy factor. I had already used the "ground claw" looking gun mount so I opted for the bipod mount. 

I also wanted more of the Git's chest exposed on the mini as opposed to the other Gitz to draw the focus to his face and arm and add the laziness of the mini. This necessitated having him standing at a larger angle from his gun and not hold it so close to his chest. I had to trim part of where the arm and shoulder meet to get this angle. Easy enough and this is an old trip covered in old GW books and maybe even the 3rd Ed main book. 

Even with the 40mm base, it is crowded. The gun hangs off the edge and only one of the bipod feet was on the base. On the other model with the "ground claw" mount, I just hung it over and planned to glue to some sand to the bottom to cover it up. On the bipod, I didn't feel this was acceptable, so I broke a rule. I changed the shape and size of a base. The mini was already glued down, so I could not just mount him onto a 50mm base. What I did was cut a semi-circle into a 25mm base and glue it to the edge of the base. It is hardly perfect but it does draw attention and it is functional. 

Lastly is the ashtray. I am no expert in sculpting and anything that I do that looks good is complete luck. That is why I keep it simple. I rolled a ball of green stuff and smushed it flat. I used the end of a paintbrush to press a half sphere into the now disc. Then I cut cigar holders into the sides with the edge of a hobby knife. After letting it dry, I glued it downa nd painted it blue to contrast with the yellow gun and draw more attention.

Finished - Mega Armored Nob

I had a metal Meganob spare and decided to bang him out as a side project in the same colors as my Geoff Flash Gitz. My idea for the Nobz and Meganobz is to have them drawn from the biggest and baddest of all the Ork Klans. To that end, their color schemes are going to be all over the place. I am going to try to paint up a Nob for each unit if appropriate or a Meganob. Unfortunately, I only had the one Meganob to experiment on. I need to trade for some on Bartertown, but few people are trafficking in them. Those that are often offer incomplete minis which is no good for me. 

The plastic box is amazing but utterly insanely priced at $63 for 3 minis. Even at the standard 20-25% off retail plus shipping, that particular box is priced outside of my reach. 

Since it is going to be a while before another Meganob is Finished, I will have to value it. To replace the mini is a challenging prospect. eBay prices run $15 to and insane $25. I think that if I was patient that I could replace them for $15 each. The paint job is simple but worth $20 for me. I had to supply an extra bit from the Nob sprue because he was missing the Iron Gob. That is worth $5 to me for a total trade/replacement value of $40 for this mini. 

Finished - 4 Gunners for Battlewagon

The Battlewagon has two places in back for gunners and I made the front two doors into gunner spots with the addition of a little plasticard. That gives me emplacements for 4 gunners and the turret. That is all the extra Rokkit/Big Shootas that the Battlewagon will allow. 

I tried to make each of minis unique. I have wanted to do a "screaming two-handed Big Shoota" mini for a while now. While building him, I realized that no one, not even an Ork, could shoot a gun like that unsupported. That is not an issue when he can brace the gun on the side of the Battlewagon's side armor. If this mini was on foot, he would look silly and unrealistic. Normally, I am a fan of "silly and unrealistic" in my Ork army but the mini's pose looked stupid and that is never good. To avoid this stupidity, I magnetized a bipod for him. 

These minis cost me maybe $15 in bits and $20 for the painting. The converting is worth maybe $5. Total trade/replacement value is $40.