GMANews.TV Christmas Party

Here are several pics from our office Christmas party a few weeks back on my Multiply page.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, guys ^_^

Very busy season, so almost zero blogging. See you all in 2008!

Blog Remix

After quite some time, I decided to update my Karmic Backstab blog.

In the spirit of Christmas, I placed a freebie Flash Christmas countdown on the top part of my blog, easily seen upon page load. It's cheesy non-Pinoy Christmas design, buy hey, free's free.

I also decided to upgrade my Blogspot template. In effect I cleaned out redundant links from my old layout and it's easier to code in new stuff now.

With the upgrade, I now have to re-tag post labels of each and every post I have on this blog since I started way back in August 2005. Ah well, slow and steady is better than nothing.

Trollblood Long Riders

I decided to do a step-by-step with the miniatures, from assembling to painting. For this one, I chose the Trollblood Long Riders (primarily because Kei wants this done ASAP so he can play with them already).

As soon as I open the box, I make sure to see if all the parts are there (and maybe see if I get some bonus bits as well ^_^). If it's all there, I dry-fit the pieces together. This is a basic mistake for some as they just go and superglue on whatever bit they get from the box. Some parts just don't go or fit right with another ~ a harsh lesson I found out with Protectorate Knights Exemplar.

With Games Workshop plastic bits, it's very easy to do. You can even just go Exacto on said bits and glue them together easily. You get nice action poses easy that way. Unfortunately, it's more difficult with Privateer Press metal miniatures. Luckily, Pork has shown me the light - via a jeweler's saw we got a few years back ^_^ But with this project, I decided not to have the Long Riders undergo surgery.



Another thing to consider about metal miniatures is that unless you prep up the metal before you paint, the paint rubs off more easily with handling (especially since we're talking about minis that get moved a lot on a battlefield table).

Pork and Arvin talked a lot about this - the release agent that's on the miniature, so that it doesn't stick to the mold; and some chemical reaction when the metal is shelved for a prolonged period of time. All that messes up with how paint is supposed to cling on to the metal. So, ALL the metal parts need to be cleaned, too. And I prefer to do that before assembling them.

I got a nifty grinding tool with a steel brush implement. I just take that whirring thing onto the metal and give it a nice shiny buff. Those steel brushes at hardware stores work as well, but I suggest not using the industrial-strength type steel brushes (those will erase a model's face LOL).

After the buff, I get some dishwashing liquid and some water, mix it together in a basin, and give the parts a nice bath. This works with those recesses that the grinding tool can't reach. I use a steel brush for this, but since there's a lot of splashing involved, I didn't get a picture of that step.



The main body of the Long Riders consist of two halves. If you just superglue them together, you'll have unsightly gaps that could ruin even the best masterclass paintjob you put on it. To close it up, you need to fill it up with putty. Most miniature modelers use Green Stuff. I just roll those up and line one of the Long Rider halves, and add some super glue as well, before slapping them on together. You should allow the putty to squeeze out and fill in those gaps.

I then break out the timer and wait for 10 minutes. This is also important, as Green Stuff needs to cure a bit before you can work on it effectively. I have made countless attempts previously with using Green Stuff for gaps and working on it without having it cured first. It just ends sadly as the putty usually comes out of the gaps as soon as you try to smooth it.

Another important thing to remember when working with putty is always keep your hands and tools wet. It's putty, it'll stick. Water helps a lot so keep a bottle of water nearby where you can dip your fingers and/or tools.

With the ten minutes, I decided to do some base work for the Trollblood cavalry. I got some various sized pebbles and superglued them onto the bases.

This is what I've been doing with the Long Riders so far. For any comments or criticisms, feel free to discuss it in the comment section of this post ^_^

7-Year Madness Hoard

I have been in the hobby of miniatures tabletop wargaming and painting/modeling for a little over seven years now. It may be a bit difficult painting in such small scale but I have always been more at ease with it so long as I have the proper tools. A lot of this stuff I read about from various sources on the Internet, White Dwarf and No Quarter magazines, words of wisdom from other veteran players (you all know who you are), and from many explorations (by myself or with the Boyz) in the depths of Cubao and Quiapo.

I now NEED to have my own work shed, as all of this junk is now squatting in the living room LOL

Cold War

Yeah, it's pretty cold in this year's December. It's very hard to wake up every morning, even if you did sleep early. Ironically, December started with some stir in Makati when Trillanes bunkered up in the Manila Peninsula.

Call To Arms
The recent league concluded with a special one-day tournament. I got to face against Kei and Obi. On my second match, I decided to take up on Mang's offer for a bye. I really wasn't up to playing the Mk. PS Mine Field scenario with anyone LOL, and the food downstairs was too good to pass up ^_^ In the end, I got my second Khador coin that day.

I'm hoping to get a nice Nintendo DS this year. The call of Pokemon is too strong. And Jojo had to show me how good his is LOL! I've already placed a bid on one on Ebay Philippines.

I got lots of more stuff planned for the coming year. Tune back in for updates. Have a good one! ^_^