Zappcon 2015 - Part 3

I took a while to type this up. Firstly, I could not hold my head upright without assistance for a couple of days after the con and was peck typing. It had nothing to do with the hold up on me assigning words to my feelings, but my throat was also a little raw as I spoke more last weekend than I do over the entirety of some months. TOTALLY. WORTH. IT. I also did not know what to blog about as there was just so much. Not everything was sunshine and puppies, but nothing kept me from coming back day two on less than three hours of sleep after more than a gallon of mixed local beers jostling around in my tummy either.

Zappcon 2015 - Part2

Sunday was less complicated than Saturday. I awoke both days at 5:30 so I could get a bath and check my backpack before catching my ride to the convention center. My morning event was a painting class. The class was being held both days, but I really wanted to get into the Atomic Robo game from Day One. The guy leading the class is a local that had been painting for long enough he still uses the GW inks. So at least the early aughts. It was bare bones beginner, but it was still fun. It started with one round table in the board game area, but spilled over to a second. After that I wandered the dealer stalls and Artists' Alley again as well as grabbed some con food.

Whisps of Smoke

I was planning on posting Part 2 of the Zappcon 2015 breakdown today. I simply wanted to state that I will wait at least one more day before posting the follow up to my last post in case anyone was waiting for it. Upon waking, I discovered a friend had died. This post contains adult language.

Zappcon 2015 - Part 1

I attended Zappcon last weekend. For those unfamiliar with Zappcon, it is a sort of mixed media convention that welcomed more than 2K people over the course of both Saturday and Sunday. Attendance might have been higher if both of the primary means of driving between Central and Southern California were not impacted by serious mudslides. It's a bit hard to figure out what I should write about. This year's Zappcon was my first convention so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Buying Local

The topic of where we buy our models comes up frequently in the miniature wargaming hobby. The reasons for either are both varied and valid. Some people buy locally because it supports the place they are currently playing. Others buy online because it is cheaper and they are playing in their homes or the home of a friend. I do a bit of both personally. I tend to order models through my local shop unless there is an insane deal or the item I want is something my local store can not order for me.

Finding Confidence

There are many things that can keep me from painting. One of the ugliest factors however is a lack of confidence. In my last post I shared a couple of pictures from an ongoing project. Physical disabilities played a part in my not painting. The real hobby killer for me lately however has been a lack of faith in myself which kept me from even trying. I might talk like a cocky know-it-all, but that is me trying to convince myself I have a clue and should not give up. There are many, many tricks, and I try every one I can find. I thought I would share what worked for me this time as it might be helpful to others.

If At First You Don't Succeed

... then fail, fail, fail again.

I have been working on this monkey for a few months now. I am so worried about messing up as I really want to get this right. I think I would be less concerned if I were painting this for myself or as a commission. As it is, this is a thank you to a friend that has taken me way too long to get nowhere.

Rage of Sigmarines!

Discussion on Age of Sigmar has been wildfire in the Warhammer community lately. This is not merely in the way the conversation spreads, but also in the landscape that is left behind. Like many in the miniature wargaming hobby. I have opinions concerning Age of Sigmar. Seeing as how this is my blog this seemed like the sensible place for me to share those opinions rather than try to inject a little bit here and there. For those of you not into the miniature wargaming hobby, and probably many that are, this will be long, dry, and boring.

Going With the Grain

I am in the middle of a fairly ambitious paint project I have been working on for a friend. I did manage to take a few in progress shots this time. I thought I would write an article about the process on how the wood rim of the base was painted as a means to show I have not abandoned this blog completely.

The Charlatan Shuffle

There are times I feel like a fake. I am constantly weaving back and forth between a state of blissful unawareness of practically everything and the day I will be exposed as a fraud. Rather than wallow in this feeling, I decided to examine it. Maybe it will help me. Maybe it won't. If I put it on the blog then perhaps somebody else can get some use out of it.

Bones II Unboxing

It is not that often I do an unboxing. My package from the Reaper Bones II Kickstarter arrived last week. I was busy so set the models aside initially while I pulled out the paints and DVDs to go over. I backed the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter as well and am happy with both purchases. This one was delayed due to unforseen extensions on transit times, getting stuck in customs for a few months, and then landing in California during the dock worker strikes. This delay was the one thing I think could possibly even be considered a negative during the kickstarter for me, and it was more a minor nuisance or inconvenience than an actual problem for me.

Deadzone Plague - Now in Technicolor!

All of my Plagued for Deadzone are painted! Well, they were until Mantic decided to mail me a sprue of Plagued to show off how they look in hard plastic. I wrote most of this a couple months ago along with taking some in progress shots to accompany this blog post. I took dozens of pictures both during and after the painting process, but ended up with only one usable photo after I adjusted the lighting levels. I tried multiple lighting set ups and camera settings and still do not understand what is going on. This unfortunately means I have no in progress photos. I still have that sprue of Plague in hard plastic I mentioned. I may wait to paint them until after I obtain a new camera or see if it is a case of needing better lighting.

The Future of Icons of Paragon City

I do not know what the future of Icons of Paragon City is right now. We took a break over the holidays and will be discussing it soonish. I pushed hard for a weekly game so we could wrap up in the first half of December. The feedback has been positive so far, but I wanted to give people a couple of weeks to decompress before seriously discussing where we go, or if we go anywhere, from here.