Amarillo Design Bureau's Starfleet Battles Freighters #MiniatureMonday

(Updated based on the ADB Facebook page. Go ahead and like them.)

Amarillo Design Bureau does several series of ships for Starfleet Battles, 2400 and 2500 series. The major difference between the two series is scale, however general ships like these freighters are the same size between these two series. Backward compatible if you like. :)

Once or twice a year ADB packages up all of the ships with defects or flaws that makes them generally unsalable and sells them by the pound.

I didn't mean to post about the scrapyard ships, but why not? Its a cool and cheap way to get into kitbashing and SFB.

These two ships were painted with Vallejo paints. The white piece holding the ship is a piece of soapstone with an arc cut into it to cradle the ships for painting.

In my next post, I will show a couple of freighters that I modified. 

New Paints, New Figures

A few weeks ago, I began paint figures for the first time in perhaps 7 to 10 years. My first problem was that I was out of practice. The second problem was my paints, a wonderful set of Windsor & Newton Designer Acrylics. The were wonderful before every other container dried out. Obvious, keeping paints in the basement, then the garage is not a great storage method. It is only natural that they dry out.

In looking for a new set of paints, I checked out some of my favorite painters and modelers. There is a lot of variety and style for modelers, but one name kept coming up: Vajello paints



The set pictured to the right is the Medieval pallet. The 16 colors are great for a variety of styles and models, not just the Middle Ages. Each bottle is 17 ml, a little more than 1/2 an ounce. The bottles all have a dropper style cap which is handy for mixing.

I have tried them out on a variety of subjects, from robots to animals and like them a lot. However, each of these tests were on previously painted figures that needed repairs.

In the next post, I will be working on three unpainted figures. Right now, I have them based on 1 inch wooden nickles and they are primed in flesh tone.

#MechaMonday January 9th, 2017 - Adeptus Titanicus

In the process of cleaning out my basement, I have come across some wonderful old figures. Back in the 1980s I recall spending many weekends playing Adeptus Titanicus. As near as I can tell, this game came out in 1988.

All that I have left of the set is the rule book sans cover and 8 Titans, only 2 of which are painted. I believe the set came with 8-12. I'd love to get my hands on more.

Lately, I have painting Space Marines. When I finish those I hope to move onto these Titans. So many toys, so little time.

#MiniatureMonday January Jan 9th, 2017

The Mark 6 "Corvus Armour" Space Marines or Beakies are back. I found a few more and painted them up. For the second set, I went with black and yellow, with silver trim. 

As you might guess, I have never played Warhammer and the paint guide I had went missing over a decade or two ago.

What I like about the Warhammer figures is you can go completely nuts with them. They have some serious heft and all kinds of surfaces waiting for paint. I have not gloss coated the Marine I did last week, as there is so much more detail I can add. That I can use a proper camera next time.

My Green Marines are sitting out ready to be painted. I got so excited finding the other parts and figures that I set them aside for the future.

I dont' know what I'll do once I run out of Marines to paint.

#MiniatureMonday January 2nd, 2017

And here is the semi-finished product from my last post. I love these old models.

I went very basic. This one was wiped down with turquoise hue as primer. Over this was a True Blue with black and silver highlights. I like the turquoise under flesh as it fakes out a little depth in the tones.

This guy's hair is brown with white dashes, he is on the older side of Space Marines. While he has lost his helmet, he is carrying a extra rifle. Perhaps, he took the helmet off to give final orders to a medic and kept the soldier's gun.

I can't wait to finish the other four. Since these were sold in packs of more than a dozen, I am hoping to find some more to paint.