Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Wednesday July 2 2008 Slow News Day

This is a great example of a themed army. It’s called the Hounds of Khorne. The client called me and we talked for perhaps an hour. I am a storehouse of information on various model ranges and we finally figured out what would work. It helps a lot if we can go outside the range (eg in this project we used figures from both Privateer Press and Rackham).

I am making some preliminary sketches of my Wyches of Thoth Chaos Daemons 40K army. Basically it’s three or more heralds of Tzeentch on disc (based on dark elf wych elves) and a ton of Tzeentch Daemons as well as some other types sprinkled in there, notably Fiends of Slaanesh. I just love those models, they are out of sight. I’ve always been a secret devotee of Tzeentch.

Specials: I am still running the Vampire Counts Core-tastic special– $2.75 each for painting basic troops at L2 (dire wolves, too!). If you dig down a few posts I still have that rockin’ deal on VC materials. I still have all that.

The Phantom Titan is shaping up. It is quite a wonder to behold.

I would also LOVE to paint some Daemon armies. Not many of those have come through. If you were interested in a Khorne army I would do a deal on that.

I was up until midnight typing last night, but managed to clear almost every last item from my Inbox. That was a relief. My wife and I watched some Great Debaters movie (or somesuch) with Denzel Washington. That was all right. At that moment, somewhere else in the country there was a government worker sleeping soundly, having got off work at 5pm sharp; snug in his little jammies with health and dental coverage. YOU’RE WELCOME!

This morning (yes, I’m jumping around) the family headed off to a local pond, but I headed to the studio. Now, I know I should have taken off with them. My dirty little secret: I really didn’t want to go to the pond.

As most of you know, I’ve had a sort of political awakening recently. Here are some random thoughts:

• I don’t know if I’m a Libertarian. But it sounds like it. Right now, I just think that 40% taxation is too much.
• On principle, I can’t get on board with the “tax the rich” thing. Everyone in the US is rich by international standards. It’s wrong to take from them by force and redistribute what they have created.
• When you buy, say, a gallon of milk, a certain percentage of the cost goes to the Income Tax paid by the company that produces it.
• I soundly reject the notion that the government can “do” anything without taking something from someone else. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
• Income tax is similar in effect to a labor camp. I work three months a year at the government labor camp. How can I call myself a free man?
• It is my will as a citizen that the government ONLY do the things that they are supposed to do and NOTHING else.
• I do not think that corporations are virtuous and good by nature. Corporatism is not desirable either.
• Dispersion of power is generally good. Concentration of power… usually bad.
• Here’s the best one: when you create something, you have invested part of your life into that something. When you are taxed, you are having part of your life taken away. The life part Life and Liberty doesn’t refer to the firing line, it refers to what you create with your time and work. Taxation pre-supposes that the State owns part of you.
• BTP paints about twenty armies a month. The government carts away four of them.
• I do not encourage anyone to fail to pay their taxes. I pay mine. Everything above board. I encourage you to chafe at your bonds.

The following projects are under the brush and due to be finished around July 10 (there may be some delays due to the July 4 holiday):
Dark Elves 01 JC dark pegasi
Chaos Daemons 01 PR
Winter Eldar 01 PP er
Emperor’s Children 08 EB (expedited)
Tau 02 SL
Phantom Moon 01 JB
Hell Talon 01 NG
Emperors Gauntlets 01 SM
Grey Knights 01 ED
Ghost Warriors 05 AS
Vampire Boyar JB
Chapter Masters 02 JS
Vampire Counts KS board ext.
Tyranids 02 FL display board
High Elves 01 GO +prep
Aliens and Ducks AK
Ulthwe Skyhost 01 JB locked
Greenskin Spirits 01 JF
Dwarf Slayer Pirates 01 KO
War Machine 10 JL +assembly

The following projects are in Assembly and due to go under the brush in mid-July:
Zombie Dragon CP
Black Templars 04 GM
Ultramarines 07 TO
Greenskin Spirits 01 JF
Ghost Warriors 06 AS phantom
Slayer Nids 01 JP
Bretonnians 01 JJ er
Biel Tan 01 CH (yes, sooo late)
Fantasy Figures 04 PM
Inquisition 02 RT death korps
Legion of the Damned 02 MN
Menoth 13 GQ
Warhammer 01 WS bitz

Favorite Vallejo Paints

Tumbleweed Houses

Here’s an interesting idea. I was thinking at one point about six months ago, what would it be like if I rounded up like eight of these, each with a different purpose. They could be moved at a whim.

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

The idea was to build these one by one every few months in my back yard, the buy some land and then own it all. Because right now I own like ten square feet of my home. I’m a squatter on bank property. It bugs me.

I’ve abandoned this idea since then. But if I were a single guy I would totally build one of these. How much could the materials cost?

Does anyone know what the law is? Assuming it is not put on a solid foundation, can you just part this on your undeveloped property and live in peace?

Needless to say, my wife hates this idea.

Monday June 30 2008 Burning Sensation

Picture: a Forge World giant spawn. This model is out of sight. It’s bigger than a tank. This is part of a huge, huge 40K Daemon army. This thing has a ton of old school models.

This is also our 2400th project. Two thousand, four hundred.

Sooooo, what’s up all?

My day started at 1:00am, knocking out a few emails before hitting the sack. I had two huge naps on Sunday so I wasn’t really tired.

My day started at 7:30am with a phone call from one of our top all time clients (he is currently commissioning that Phantom Titan). That’s a great way to start the day. And I was on a cloud knowing the bills were going to get paid.

I spent part of the morning searching for the arms on my young son’s Iron Man toy. Once found I superglued them on.

Over the weekend I painted up six random heroes for my D&D game. Just random stuff I grabbed off the bitz wall. I also painted up a small tribe of Goblins. These are probably like a high L2, certainly no more. Did I mention that already.

It was a usual day at the studio: spirits high with lots of joking around. However, there was one very dark spot: I sold my glorious Tau Verdaan army. All 3000 pts.

Let’s have a moment of silence for the army.

…

So sad, but as Sarah and I were discussing; holding on to your art can stifle creativity. It’s true. The exit of the Tau paves the way for the Wyches of Thoth army. Oh yes, you know you want it. Plus those figures will cross-over into my D&D game.

When I got home we headed out with the family to pick up some fireworks and we lit of some simple stuff in the driveway. A little bit of magic. That was FHE.

Anyone interested in how to start your own miniatures painting business?

Here’s a start. First, you need your painting kit. Pick a solid palette of about 30-50 materials. That way you can duplicate work later. Duplication is a big part of what you do. Keeping notes on how you did each project helps, too.

Now, you have to build exposure. This is the tough part. It means you have to paint a LOT even if you have no commissions. Put your work up wherever you can.

Since I started BTP four years ago about six hundred operations have sprung up around the country. This is an endurance run, not a sprint. The battlefield is littered with the corpses of people who though it would be “fun” to paint miniatures for a living. Listen up, Bambi, it IS NOT fun. It’s a business so cover your gonads and clench your teeth and get ready for the pain.

Advertising on forums is good. It’s usually about $30 a month. Many of them will allow you to trade service for it. Then start posting on the forums and really become part of the community.

Build up a local clientele. This will keep you steady. People will almost always stay with a local. Treat these people like gold. I still have clients from the SF Bay four years later.

What about keeping your day job? I highly advise against it. A great part of your success will be if you are consistent and available. Make the leap. Don’t be a wuss. Burn the ships, just like Cortez!

But in case you need to know for sure, here’s what you do. It’s a thirty day trial. You have to give up TV, computer games, and other activities. You’re going to work your normal hours plus four hours in the evening of painting. Again, no matter if you have commissions or not. Keep painting like a madman and get it all documented and posted on your various forums. If you can keep it up for a month then you might have a shot.

To make your painting studio successful you will have to give up computer/console games. Just sell off your Playstation. Get rid of it. If you won’t then you’re not ready to make the cuts you need to make it. TV is OK as long as you are working while it is on. But it does reduce your speed by about 20% just to be lisening to it. Be prepared to make sacrifices. There’s no way around it.

Extrapolate your prices from your financial needs and painting speed. Don’t undercut on the prices. Remember, you’ll spend about 30% of your time on administrative stuff (packing, emails, and sales). Account for that. Bring your service up to what you charge. People will pay for quality and followup. And reliability.

Lastly, document your processes when you’re painting. You can usually double your speed AND still maintain quality if you really concentrate and approach the process intelligently. Write down step by step how to paint each figure and time each step to the second.

Later, if you add other people remember that you have just changed the entire deal. There is really, really something to be said for going solo. If you’re not thinking about going at least ten years I highly, highly advise against employing others.

That’s a start.

Opposition in All Things

Hey all!

All right people. Tell me a political type book that I should read that provides a completely different viewpoint from what I normally propose here.

I’ll buy the book, read it thoroughly and look for the positive in a forthcoming review.

So what’s it going to be?

PS- I would prefer something written recently and less than 300 pages!

Saturday June 28 2008 Fire Extinguisher

Picture: something one of our artists came across. We didn’t paint this.

My day started at 4am. I was up before the dawn eating a bowl of granola and raisins (I’m cutting down on the sugar– probably already reducing total intake in half). I watched a few episodes of the Simpsons while whittling down the Inbox.

I pretty much hung out at home this morning, finally sauntering into the studio by myself at noon. A client came by– he’s building a Legion of the Damned army. We have very, very few clients inside Utah, so it’s nice to get some face time.

I picked up around the studio, making good inroads into the assembly room. The bitz are a constant battle. Think about how much is left over from painting an army every day! This is a HUGE benefit to BTP customers. We don’t sell the bitz, we just keep them around just in case you need something. Often we’ll take care of a lot of problems that you never even know about. Clients don’t pay for the bitz when used in their projects. On the other hand we also keep all the leftover bitz.

I’m using Lizardmen Skinks as kobolds in my D&D game. I’ll probably sub in various items from the Lizardmen range. Tonight I brought home a bunch of other various figures to paint up for the D&D game. I’m super-stoked about that.

Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition is the best miniatures battles game I’ve ever played.

Yes, I just said that. It can be played on an open board just as easy, replacing squares with inches, and using the round 3/4/5″ template from Hordes for the various area effect powers.

Around 7pm my wife calls and says “isn’t the Ward BBQ tonight?” After slapping my forehead I headed out to that with a watermelon and a huge knife (which I keep around the studio in case of emergencies). That was a slice of paradise– lots of food and good friends and family.

I really enjoy my family. It’s great to see the kids discover everything for themselves the first time.

Case in point, the two older kids found the fire extinguisher in the car and sprayed the whole garage with a coat of fine powder.

Got a few good comments on a blog post from a few days ago:

http://bluetablepainting.blogspot.com/2008/06/trampled.html

In other news, I am selling off all my 40K armies. Don’t be sad. I’ll build them up again. Always something new. More details are coming, but here’s what I got so far:Questing Knights: $950 for 2200 ptsDragons of Moloch: $950 for 2300 ptsTau Verdaan Sept part A: $800 for 1500 ptsTau Verdaan Sept part B: $800 for 1500 ptsEmail me if you wish to inquire seriously. You can have all three for $3500.

Trampled

I just put up a new post– four posts down from here. It’s something I’ve been working on for a few days.

Friday June 27 2008 Hard at "Work"

Picture: a herd of Shredders from a Legion of Everblight army. That’s for the game of Hordes, which I highly recommend.

This morning I got up at a respectable 8am to find my lovely wife already up. She made me some french toast and cantaloupe slices. The guinea pig and rabbit are fully running around in the back yard.

I got to “work” at 10am where I met with my fellow-conspirators for a game of Fourth Edition D&D. I’m running my own spin on Keep on the Shadowfell (this title harkening back to Keep on the Borderlands). I painted up some Lizardmen Skinks to represent kobolds. Those turned out very well with yellow-bone colored skin and green-blue scales. I’ll take some pics soon. I will probably flesh it out to a whole Lizardmen army.

I have nothing but a glowing report for Fourth Edition. It’s four times as good as previous editions! Now that I think about it, I’m generally happy with new editions of any game. First level characters have a load of options to spice up a combat and it works ever so smoothly with miniatures on a table.

We ordered two pizzas for the game: one hawaiian, and another half combo half pepperoni.

In other news, I am selling off all my 40K armies. Don’t be sad. I’ll build them up again. Always something new. More details are coming, but here’s what I got so far:

Questing Knights: $950 for 2200 pts
Dragons of Moloch: $950 for 2300 pts
Tau Verdaan Sept part A: $800 for 1500 pts
Tau Verdaan Sept part B: $800 for 1500 pts

Email me if you wish to inquire seriously. You can have all three for $3500.

I got a haircut yesterday morning at an old-timey barbershop downtown. I love that, it feels really good to have that mop off.

Tomorrow, I will be paying the price for the D&D game. I’ll be down at the studio for a full spread.

Snapshots of a Few Goodies

Turn Signals on a Land Raider

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