Vampires Next Door, Episode 3

This episode, the Von Carsten's yard gets some foliage and sand. Sadly, the tree idea was scratched...

I think they are toasting each other, or the gargoyle, (or the corpse, not sure).
Time to prime.
Until next round, be well.

Vampires Next Door, Episode 2

On this episode of Vampire Next Door, we are going to take a look at the Von Carsten's yard.

It is watched over by a very nice gargoyle (origins unknown) and a random trespasser.

Go ahead, ring the bell...
The small bases are detachable, for when there is blood-letting about.
Until next time...

Vampires Next Door, Episode 1

In Episode One of the Vampires Next Door saga; the blueprint.

Beginning at the lower right corner, Isabella Von Carsten (the classic sculpt) will stand holding her chalice 'o blood. Behind her, a crooked tree will arc over to the other side of the base. This is where Manfred will be standing (again, classic sculpt) upon a broken tombstone. The base will rise to the left, using plastic brickwork, and be centrally guarded by a gargoyle, with a bell.

Until next episode...

A Pleasant Day

I set about making a couple of boards wargame-ready this weekend. And the first one is finished.

I rescued two 3x4' plywood boards from a free bin. I then cut out a bunch of plasticard blobs. A grass mat was selected and cut to size, then flipped over and the blobs traced out on the back. The blob shapes were cut out of the grass mat, then it was flipped over again to trace out the blob shapes onto the board. The blobs were spray painted with a really dark green base, light brown (which ended up dark...) and then some 'make it stone' textured spray. The blob edges were then highlighted with a bleached bone-like color (dollar store kind).

The grass mats were laid down, trimmed and white-glued, then stapled. Wood edges to protect the table during storage were then nailed in. The whole project was oddly easy...

Lava Tau

So here it is, test model number two for a possible Tau army commission, this time with lava.

The only thing missing are the markings, suggestions?
Here is the other one. Your thoughts?

Post 200 - With Style!

A Stylish Blogger, me? Well that is what Mark at Musings of a Metal Mind thinks. To get such a nomination from a hobby icon like him, well that is just cool, thanks man! So in the spirit of this digital wildfire, here we go...

What to do:
-- Thank and link back to the person giving you the award (see above)

-- Share seven things about yourself

-- Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award

-- Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

Seven things about myself....

--I used to be a redshirt. A time ago I was a staffer at GW, it was one of the best experiences in my working life. I can blame many of my hobby skills on those two years. It is what prompted me to be a productive member of hobby society.

--I drank beers with Tom Savini. He is a horror movie artist and played Sex Machine in Dusk till Dawn. It was after the first con I volunteered for. Dax (from DS9) was at the table too. Much laughing ensued.

--I am writing a RPG. For the past few years (er....13?) me and my beta testers have been developing nWo, you can find it if you look hard enough....

--A gaming group lives in my house. Obviously, I am a gamer. And they all don't "live" in my house, but there always seems to be a game about. Rabbit Hole Games for the win!

--I like to burn things. No, not arson, spinning fire-staff. Although I like it when other things are on fire too...

--Jack T. Rabbit. He's my bunny, he is also ancient, and he's my best friend. He is a fuzzy dwarf lop and likes to help with terrain building and destroying the instructions so I don't read them. He also beats up cats.

--I don't watch TV. Ever. I go to work instead ;)

Ok, so the other part. I'm not sue if these guys have got a nomination yet, but they should;

1. The multiverse at Porky's Expanse has continually spurred me on. It is a vault of interesting ideas. It is a good read, every time.

2. Fellow artist, and brother in arms, Swimming Eagle. There is some hobby stuff in there, but it is mostly for the view. This is a blog filled with the mind of a true artist.

3. Zen 40,000. The blogger responsible for igniting my interest in marines. Not only are the models excellent, (this is the first yellow-with-checker-marine I have EVER liked), but the backgrounds he writes (for each unit!) realizes the army.

4. Luddstuff, it is like a scratch building supernova.

5. Fun Painty Time? Just take a look at what Carmen has been up to. Gangsters? Guys with pipes? A quiet street corner?

6. Sometimes I need a chaos fix. So I head over to Chaos Brushes. There are some inspiring things over there...

7. There have been some really interesting things popping up on the Eye of (t)Error lately. I love the patrol boat!!!1

8. Usually, orks aren't my thing, but the smurf's lootas are simply brilliant.

9. The Glorious Works are glorious. And stunning.

10. The Harrowed is a new blog I've only recently started following. Crazy daemon stuff, yes please!

There we go, now time to send out some messages....

Heresy is Fun

When I first saw the dreadknight I knew I had to desecrate the warp out of it. With the bitz left over from Mr. Huggy, and some tomb king bling, the Brotherhood got a new giant-robot-deamon.

And as a nifty bonus, there was enough bitz leftover to make a terminator, just like a cereal box!

until next round....

Warp Wednesday 26: Rabbit For Hire

Some people have enquired about the possibility of me doing commission work for them. The answer is, yes I would do commissions.

The next question is usually, how much? To which I reply with a question about how well they want it done. A super-fast job, from assembly to table-ready, or display-case quality?

	Small	Medium	Large	Vehicle/Monster	Super Heavy
Tabletop	10	20	35	80	140
Character	+8	+10	+16	+40	+80
Showcase	+12	+20	+30	+60	+120
X Base	+5	+8	+10	+20	+30
Conversion	+10	+15	+20	+35	+50
Build	+5	+10	+15	+25	+50

This is my pricing matrix, all projects begin at the "Tabletop" quality (a three layer per colour standard).  All of the other options are add-ons, like if the model is unassembled or requires extra basing like tiles.
I am a bit crazy, and commissioning conversions (and "kitbashes") would never be out of the question. From vanilla Ultramarines to obscure ancient kits, all projects are welcome.

So, in closing, feel free to contact me about commissions. No project is too strange or to large.

ricalope1@gmail.com

Ninja Terrain

No, I haven't gone over to chaos, at least not completely...yet....

It just happens that a good associate over at the Ninja Den is holding an event. Ricalopia is happy to support such petty feuding!

So, over the past week, there has been much terraforming in the Rabbit Hole. Some pieces, like the big rocks in the middle and the grey hills, are built and painted by the aforementioned ninja. The rest was a morning of hot glue, plasticard and styrofoam.

Now the Ninja Den has a battlefield, (and nobody saw it coming...)


Enjoy!

The Phasian War - Imperial Command (1)

Deep within the sanctums of the Inquisition House a small selection of Imperial servants met in the shadows. A single light strained to illuminate the stylized "I" of the Speaker's Stone. A general of the OPDF stood there now with a hand-held holo-projector.

"The attacks have been mainly concentrated on the South-East quarter of the Hive, surely we could take reinforcements from Hive Secondus." He paused to attempt to identify a response but the darkness thwarted him. "Since the first attack on 42 Gamma the Black Legion daemon has been kept at bay." Finished, he stepped from the light.

Lord Inquisitor Kaluha stepped onto the Speaking Stone. "No, we are outnumbered," his gaze fell upon the OPDF general, "if one marine is a hundred guardsmen. There are two legions who oppose us. And let us not forget the daemon world we have a gate to. Although they did attempt to redeem themselves, they are in the company of Peltops and that bastard Dragger."

"From the reports that Pilot had of the ordeal, the Wolfram are heretics if only a step too far." The Palatine of the Daughters of Odin stood in the glow of the Speaking Stone. "That is still a step too far and they must be punished. Although the threat of the xenos will worsen unless burned out." She scanned the shadows, " the Daughters are mobilizing to keep the purity of this planet."

Phoboes, fresh from the Mechanicus medicae, stepped up to speak. "I propose that Lord Inquisitor J Daniels lead the South-Eastern defense quarter, his expertise with the witch and connection with the Daughters will be optimal. 609th units will be deployed to support the main Hive."

And almost as though forgotten, "Edam has confirmed, no ETA."