Richmond IPMS

For a couple of years Justin McCoy has suggest that I attend an IPMS event. Out of the blue I connected with Bryant Dunbar, from Grex, and he put a plug in for the Richmond even since he'd be there.  So this past weekend, my wife and I drove down from DC to Richmond to see what all the fuss was about. I brought down a few models to enter into the competition. First off, the event was huge. There were around 500 models in competition, with table after table of entries to look at. Visually, it was a lot to take in. It was also a bit confusing. IPMS has lots and lots of rules. Despite that, I took home two first place awards, a second place award, and a third place award. I think I may have made a few folks jealous, when they found out it was my first event. I dutifully explained that I have been painting for more than a decade, and that I was really honored to receive awards by the military modeling folks. 

1st place: Ogre bust from Roman Lappat in the fantasy bust category (this category was split out during the judging)

1st place: Mark IV Female WW1 tank by Trenchworx (tank without instructions category)

2nd place: WW2 machine gunner bust in the historical bust category

3rd place:  Medusa by Forgeworld. 

One of the coolest things about the event was the massive vendor area. If you've ever wondered what all the cook aftermarket kits are like, or where you can by mig products in person, this is the kind of event to attend. I managed to pick up 5 1/35 scale military scale model kits for around fifty dollars. That is a steal! 

Ancient Chimera Refurbishment Project WIP 1

Yesterday I drove down to Richmond Virginia to attend my first IPMS convention. I entered models in four categories, and placed in all four of them. I'll do a more detailed post on that tomorrow. In the mean time, I think I should share another refurbishment project. This time I am repainting my only Chimera from my original Imperial Guard. Like the Griffen, this tank was grey, with Necromunda hive markings. In these photos the tank has gone through the first phases of weathering, and is awaiting decals, streaking, and touch up work. It is hard to image that this kit has traveled with me for more than 20 years. The paint is thick, the glue is bad, and none of that impacts my love for this little AFV.

Ogre Bust

A friend mentioned that IMPS Richmond was coming up, and that it was only two hours away from DC, so it seems like I might be going to the show this Saturday. I hate to go to a show without a model to share, so some quick work on the Roman Lappat Ogre and I think he is presentable now. This paint style will likely be the recipe I use for my Ogre Kingdoms army for Age of Sigmar. The weakest part of the model is probably the hair, though the base is pretty bas as well. I didn't have a plinth to put him on, so I chopped a chuck off of a wooden ruler and painted it black. Hopefully that works!

Anyone else going to the IMPS Richmond show this Saturday? Anyone have a critique they'd like to share? I would like to touch up major flaws before this weekend.

Valkyrie Refurbish WIP 3

I've been having so much fun repainting old GW models, that even though the Valk is a few stages away from completion, that I want to move on to the next refurbishment project. I added some heat treatment to the engines, but forgot to add red! I suppose I should be able to ghost in a little bit of it later, but that is the last glaring thing besides the lack of gunners and pilots. Good news on that front though, after Zzzzzz generously offered some replacements I decided to do more scrounging. I found the bits, along with my next refurbishment project in a box of half built Imperial Guard bits. I imagine it is getting old, me just posting repaints done right on top of existing paint schemes, but to me it feels like a pallet cleanser. I almost want to break out my Tallarn and paint them up to go with these aircraft.

A couple of things have contributed to this project being stress reducing and fun. First was deciding to use as few colors as possible. The second has been the feedback on the old models. It is really cool seeing what other people think about these refurbishment projects. There is something really satisfying taking a model that couldn't make it on eBay, and turning it into something a person might actually want.

One thin that hasn't been apparent on the blog has been my experiments with new air brushes during this work. I have been using Grex air brushes for years, but I recently discovered tamiya pistol grip air brushes as well as half a dozen no-name inexpensive chinese brands. I've been using these refurb models to familiarize myself with the new brushes prior to starting the Thunderhawk.

Also, did I mention that I found a box full of squats? No? Well I did, and they are glorious! My squats were apparently in service to the Imperial Guard, and are painted like the original plastic squat box art.  

Valkyrie Refurbish WIP 2

The Valkyrie is coming along nicely. For a model that has mold lines, poor glueing, and other defects, I really like it. I need to add environmental effects to it now. Chipping, flak steaks, engine exhaust, and loads of dripping will finish this model off. It would be nice to find the pilots and the heavy bolters for the doors, but that might be a bridge too far.