Reader's Showcase Gallery

Hi all, just a quick post to notify readers that the Reader's Showcase Gallery is now up and running! So what is the Reader's Showcase? Well the answer is in the title, readers of the blog are invited to submit their work with s name/alias they wish to be referred to as and of course if you have any site/blog links of your own, please include those so readers can redirect. All articles will be featured weekly on this blog - usually Tuesday and once a poster reaches 10 submissions, they will get a place in the Reader's Showcase Gallery.

Why am I doing this? I love painted miniatures and I love to write articles. There are a lot of very talented people out there who have amazing painted miniatures, some of whom may not have the exposure they deserve due to a lack of a blog or site etc The Showcase Series is my way of thanking/helping build the community by showcasing fellow hobbyists work.

So If you have a painted piece you really love and want to share with the 14th Legion readers, then please send me a email titled Showcase HERE. 

Until then, a big congratulations to Sven, who is the first person to receive a place in the Showcase Gallery, with his amazing Kingdom Death miniatures.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Ronin Work Goes On!

Hi all, last week was my birthday so in true fashion I did not much time at all to do anything. What I did get done can be seen below in the form of Ronin progress! I am happy with the way the reds have come out, they tie in nicely with the rest of my force and form a nice contrast to the bright blue. Right now I am thinking of leaving the rims of the armour in black and sharp highlighted in grey, I did try the gold route, but I was not satisfied with the results and ultimately I feel that Mishima armour should be left in shades of blues/ or reds like in the source materials.

It is really just a case of fine details now, before I can move on to the arms and basing, the swords, pouches and sandals are all that really remain, as well as the Mishima belt symbol that will bring the models 'to life' once complete. I will attempt to paint eyes on at least one of the miniatures, just to see how difficult it really is. The details are so astonishingly small that I wonder if they would be noticed at all...

Well hopefully we will see an end to this unit this week, which means I need to decide on what to do next. I am still waiting on some replacement miniatures to arrive, so perhaps it is time to move away from units and on to characters. The one that appeals to me right now is Nozaki, purely for the long coat and sinister look to him. While I love the miniature, I really don't like his background, a true villain!

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios
The 14th legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature,check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Enter The Leviathan

Prodos have released photos of the Capitol Leviathan master print and as stated,all that is needed is a cleanup before production can begin. The pictures below shows the sheer beast of resin that it is and also how determined Prodos are, to bringing not just the detailed infantry but also the (very) big guns. I am just waiting to see when the rest of the Heavy master moulds turn up, the sooner that happens, the sooner Kickstarter backers get their wave 2. While I am sure the casts will generally be fine, I am apprehensive on how long the moulds will last, after all I am still missing my Venusian Rangers and still have a variety of mis-cast parts that require replacing.

With January coming to a close, Prodos seem to be making a strong start to 2014, despite massive delays in 2013, they have delivered most (if not all by now) of Kickstarter backers wave 1. Further more, people have ordered from the webstore have been getting their stuff in good time - one of my friends is on that list. In addition to this, we have seen multiple new products announced and of course progress on the long anticipated tanks. 

Good job Prodos, keep it up!

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature,check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Tanks & Sharks!

Prodos Games have dispelled any fears that Warzone: Resurrection would be neglected by the upcoming Aliens Vs Predators board game. Following the very popular preview renders of the Mishima Tiger Dragons, pictures have surfaced of the next intended figure release and more importantly render progress of the Bauhaus and Capitol Heavy tanks.

The Blue Shark has been shown previously, but at the time of image release, was listed as waiting for approval, and judging by the lack of any discernible changes, this original concept and sculpt ticks all the boxes. While I am not a fan of the Capitol faction, I am a fan of this miniature, the jet bike is a nice design and the character himself well sculpted and pouring with detail.

The tanks have been an interesting subject for Prodos Games and subject to various delays, leading to the need for a Wave 2 release schedule. This coupled with the already delayed Kickstarter delivery date (originally Summer 2013, but pushed back to Autumn 2013), irked a lot of backers who had already felt the sting with sub par Kickstarters by other companies (not going to name). Never the less, in true Prodos fashion, updates have been very consistent and the staff as forth coming as possible on information.

One of the problems face by the original renders was a lack of detail, which led to a unpopular decision to re-do the renders. Of course, judging by the images released by Prodos, the wait has been worthwhile, although I have some reservations about the boxier Bauhaus Grizzly. Again I do actually like the Leviathan (Capitol tank), the twin autocannon and generally brutal looking design, remind me a bit of Command and Conquer designs.

Regardless of the delays I am in favour of the new renders and cautious release approach. While Prodos Games miniatures are certainly not lacking in details, some of the details on my miniatures are far too fine, so to have new renders with exaggerated cuts means a sharper cast/print. I am expecting good things from these tanks, but of course am anxious to see something heavy for my Mishima force...while I don't expect anything with tracks or wheels, I am certainly expecting something with two very stompy feet!

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature,check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Ronin Face Details

A good day despite the late start (I did not start painting until late afternoon), I managed to get all the flesh tones done for the Ronin bodies. I took a very different approach to the way I paint skins, this time looking for more subtle and realistic shades. I do prefer the effect, the extra time taken to do this is worth while and I am sure with more practice I will get smooth transitions like the pro's.  I think these pictures at the very least show just how much detail Prodos has managed to cram into their casts, it has been a long time since I have encountered basic troop choices as intricate in detail as these -the last time being the hey day of Rackham. I honestly believe that Prodos are hitting the balance of quality, game play and price (entry point being similar to Warmachine), all of these points being key things to a successful miniatures company. However they need to sort out their current Kickstarter issues (which are not the worst by any means) and method of promotion, as access to the wider audience that are 'waiting' in the wings to see what they can do is crucial at this stage.

Warzon Resurrection: Mishima Ronin & Overall Project Update

The Meka is now finished, so it is time to move on to the next unit. I am relenting on taking photos just yet as after some discussion on the Warzone Facebook page, I came to the conclusion that I am not happy with the existing base design. Right now I have gone for my standard recipe of dark brown, khaki highlight with a touch of grass and while this looks ok for other projects, I don't think it is altogether right for my Mishima force, so the idea I am playing with is a forest/woodland theme with leaves, grass and scatter. I am not going with the typical bamboo trees as I know a lot of people are doing this already, instead I will be focusing on a natural look. As a result I have put in an order with a company called Basecrafts for one of their woodland basing kits, having watched the video, there is a very nice amount of materials to play with, to give that authentic woodland look.

So on to the next part of my Mishima Project! As the title states, the next unit on my table is the Mishima Ronin, these figures are loaded with character and detail, whilst still remaining a unified squad on the table. I have had a few issues with figuring out what blue I wanted for the pants, but finally I settled on electric blue, while the armour plates will be the typical red I have used on all my Mishima figures so far. The blue cloth/red armour is in line with the art work released by Prodos and also the figures released in previous incarnations. The way I look at it, red armour is the colour of the retainer class (Crimson Devils seem to fall into this category), while the dark blue seems reserved for the Samurai classes. I do not know if this will hold true once a dedicated source book comes, but for now it makes for a nice explanation in my growing force.

I am not feeling too enthusiastic with my characters right now, while they are very nice miniatures, they don't grab my attention as much as say the Capitol characters. Hopefully this will change as the 2014 release schedule rolls forwards. In terms of what remains for my Mishima force, the following figures need to be built or primed, but other than that, there is nothing else!

Lord Nozaki - In bag

Hiroko - Built & Primed

Tatsumoto - In bag

5 Ronin - In bag

5 Hatamoto - In bag (Replacement parts have arrived)

Project Red tide - Currently converting

Meka #3 - waiting on replacement legs and blade arm

Not a lot to go, but probably won't be done for the end of the month as envisioned, but then again I did not think I would be putting as much detail into these miniatures as originally intended. Prodos have announced the Tiger Dragons as their next Mishima release, the question now is when will pre-orders open up? Either way I will be in for two boxes to max out that option.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature,check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Meka Paint Progress

More progress on the first of my trio of Mishima Meka. Hobby time has been so scattered this week as per last and I am glad to have gotten a solid painting session in today. As you can see from the photos, this Meka is on the closing stages of it's paint job. Today has mainly consisted of figuring out what I wanted to do with the arms and the head and also the base. After consulting other members of the Warzone forums, it was decided that a more Asian forest (with bamboo) would look better than the barren snow fields I had planned originally. I am liking this idea a great deal as it is something I have not tried to do before, so I am excited about the challenge of bringing this to 'life'.

Reader's Showcase #9: Kingdom Death The Scribe

The first reader submission of the year and in my opinion a stunning figure to start 2014 with. The Scribe is one of Kingdom Deaths most intricate miniatures to date, with an array of separate arms that form the throne for the Scribe himself (think Game Of Thrones...but made of hands!). There is a huge amount of detail in this figure and once again, Sven has done an amazing job of bringing this Kingdom Death monster to life! I have to admit, I do wait with anticipation each week, just to see what Sven has emailed and this as always I have been blown away. 

Please note this is one of Kingdom Death's more 'creative' figures and as such this post is NSFW there is gore and nudity in the majority of the photos. However if you are on a private computer, sit back and enjoy this fantastic miniature in it's full glory.

The Scribe by Sven 

NSFW 

Gallery: Forge World Nurgle Blight Drone

Another golden oldie from my collection. Originally part of a trio, I had intended to use these figures as Daemon Princes of Nurgle with Wings (5th edition). This Drone was the 'lead' Drone hence the extra work done to the base, which is built up out of green stuff over a wire mesh. I Incorporated some spare skulls and zombie bits to reflect the background of these nasty little blighters - they eat the fallen and process them into corrosive sprays. The paint job was very similar to the Daemon Prince, with lots of washes used to create a bruised flesh effect on the larval area. I also used the same light rust pigment on the metal areas to keep the models coherent. 

I have to admit to enjoying the Nurgle Daemon models and perhaps in the future I will be enticed to paint more Nurgle bits.

 

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Meka Paint WIP

I put up a couple of shots last night on Facebook and the Prodos forums, but completely forgot to add a post here! I took some fresh(er) pictures of the current state of the Mishima Meka, these shots are later shots compared to the ones I posted yesterday and show off far more of what I envision of the model. The frontal 'tattoo' is a Dragon Koi done in freehand. I did not use any stencils or outline in pencil - I tried in the beginning but it looked so messy that it was unworkable.

Gallery: Forge World Nurgle Daemon Prince

This is one of the figures that have been lurking on my shelf waiting to be photographed and since I have decided to put best foot forward for 2014, I finally pulled my socks up and did a few photo shoots. The Forge World Daemon Prince of Nurgle is a fantastically detailed figure filled with skin itching sores, maggots and other nastiness. Surprisingly this was also one of my quicker paint jobs despite the size of the miniature. Rotting flesh shaded with green and red washes were all I used to get the figure looking as he does. I am quite proud of the detailing I have put into the face, including the popped right eye ball, broken teeth general sores. To help contrast all the red and pink areas I decided to give the metal areas a wash of light rust pigment and made the slime in it's barrel a luminescent green.

In hind sight I probably should have done some else with the Nurglings but as this was the first figure I painted for my army (at the time) I am still very happy with the outcome.

Warzone Resurrection: Tiger Dragons Full Render

Hi guys, as promised Prodos have followed up with the Tiger Dragons full render showing the weapon, body poses and of cause all that lovely detail. I for one am stoked and now fully convinced that Mishima will lead the way for me in Warzone.

All I need now is that pre-order button!

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Gallery: Mishima Hatamoto

Wave 1 of my Warzone Resurrection pledge arrived on the 23rd of Decemeber 2013, but despite best efforts I was unable to make the necessary free time to paint them up until after New Year. I went for the classic Hatamoto colours scheme of midnight blue with some red armour and glowing green eyes to offset all the blue. I purposely exaggerated the eye glow due to the fact that the sculpts were so fine that in most cases it was impossible to paint lenses/eyes. The bases are custom made using, cork, sand and static grass and have been dotted with patches of snow; as I intend to carry the theme into my Bauhaus collection to represent a winter campaign between the two factions. I am not sure how visible it is but there are also gun casings on various parts of the bases and also one being ejected from a rifle. An excellent set of models and well worth the wait, I am looking forward to painting up the Tiger Dragons when they are released as they will have similar aesthetics to the Hatamoto.

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Tiger Dragons Render

After much anticipation, Prodos Games have released a teaser of their next Warzone Resurrection release and if you are a Mishima fan like my self, you will not be disappointed. The Tiger Dragons are as iconic unit as the Hatamoto with twin Sashimono banners and power naginatas. What I like about Prodo's re-imagining is that they have opted once again for the Oni styled kabuto masks, that are prooving very popular with the fans.  From the render, it looks like the unit will come with the HMG weapon (a heavy machine gun) which will be a welcome fire power addition to what is a melee intensive release so far.

I am sure Prodos will produce an official update via their Kickstarter showing more of the renders and should they do this, I will add the new photos to this post. There was no indication of any other releases but it is still early days with Kickstarter shipments still needed fulfilment. However it is encouraging to see new non KS renders as it shows an attempt at longevity and development of the brand.

I am hoping for an end of January pre-order for the Tiger Dragons and who knows, this month may be a multiple trickle release for Mishima...fingers crossed! 

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature line I highly recommend, check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Mishima Meka Build With Sashimono Banners

Greetings all, the Hatamoto squad is now complete and I will be doing a gallery shoot tomorrow afternoon, in the mean time I have been working (and pondering) on the Mishima Meka. The re-design by Prodos Games has been subject to discussion due to the deviation from background and original miniature from the 90's. The Meka is described in source books as being a giant battle suit, so for me I feel the new Meka fits the description, however some players argue that it should be more of a giant Samurai robot, perhaps a kin to the Silver Samurai from the latest wolverine movie. I am glad they did not do this as I would rather see the Warheads in this design, giving rise to the image of the ancestors coming to battle once again. I will agree on one thing though, the new design does seem a little alien when compared to the new Ronin models and only a slight semblance to the Hatamoto. Because of this I decided that a small modification would be required to better tie in the Meka (well to my force anyway), in the form of Sashimono banners: iconic Japanese back banners worn on the back by infantry men.

(original Meka design)

Like with the bases, I am keen now to work on my miniatures and the thought of waiting a week or so for bits did not appeal. Further more after building my own bases, I was keen to try my hand once again at building my own bits as opposed of taking the easy route of clicking a purchase button. The banner poles are from a single pieces of 3 mm brass rod (if I recall), bent at the top to right angles. The banners are made from thin plasticard cut to shape and affixed to the banner poles with no less  than 7 pieces of cut plasticard to fasten them - this is the same method I use when creating leather strip guards. I am happy with the result and glad that I did not have to wait for anything or spend, I think these will look very vibrant in rich red once I get round to painting (hopefully tomorrow?). In terms of colour, it has been suggested that I use the same colours for the Hatamoto on this unit, and while at first I did not like the idea of it I think the addition of the Sashimono's as a colour break will actually work in favour of midnight blues, I will have a play around tomorrow and see what the result is.

I had intended to write about new releases for Warzone today, due to indications that new renders were ready to be released, however Prodo's did not give out any new information. A shame really as I would have liked to see their new take on the Tiger Dragons.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Warzone Resurrection is a great game and miniature,check it out HERE

Warzone Resurrection: Hatamoto Troopers & Custom Bases

Greetings everyone, I hope you are all well! With the festive holidays concluded, I now have the time to sit down and put some real effort into my Warzone collection, the last two evenings have been a frenzy of painting details and research as I march on to complete my Hatamoto Troopers. The pay off is that they are pretty much done! Bar a couple of details (Mons on the shoulder pads and highlights for the sword hilts) the Hatamoto Squad is exactly where I want it, in terms of painting. I ended up going for a very exaggerated eye glow to offset the blue helmets, this was also due to the fact that the eyes are incredibly difficult to paint, and in some cases not formed properly at all (again due to the fine details of the casts), against the sea of dark blue I think the decision was the right one.

I have also decided to make my own bases this time round! I notoriously spend quite a bit on resin bases, but for this project I decided to add my own creativity to the mix. At the start I could not decide what I wanted to do for base details, but last night I conjured up an idea that I think will work and as you can see in the photo above, the bases are ready for priming. There have been a few small issues during the painting process, the highlights are not as smooth as I normally achieve and this is down to two factors, I was overly excited to get lots done - loss of quality, and I was really unsure how to go about painting this figures - which is always the case with new miniatures ranges. But as I said I am happy with the results. I will be doing a Gallery photo shoot once the bases are done, to show off some of the small painted details and to get close ups of the eyes.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios
The 14th Legion

Warzone: Resurrection is a great game and miniature line, check it out HERE