[Review] GW's How to Paint Citadel Miniatures Book/DVD

I am probably the perfect customer for this product. I'm a casual painter with absolutely no real training. I taught myself, but I have a notoriously heavy hand and I find my work to be sloppy, grungy and just plain messy. If anyone needs help learning to paint, it's me.

A sample of my work. 

I love products like this, with step-by-step PICTURES of how those guys behind the curtain accomplished their magic. I bought the Privateer Press DVD as well, and watched it several times in the vain hope that talent would be transmitted through the screen to my feeble self.

I really enjoyed the P3 video, but I thought it went a little fast and missed some vital "up close" materials a NEW painter would want to see. Not so with the GW book. I've only browsed through it a few times and quickly gone through the DVD, but I can tell you that I will be checking both out over and over again.

So here's a look at the actual book:

It's got a "kickstand" or easel that's intended to help the book stand up right in front of you was you paint. The pages are magazine thickness and glossy, and spiral bound to make flipping to a specific page a breeze, with no worries about breaking your binding or pages falling out.


There are several sections of the book that I found super helpful, and others were "meh". The only issue was sometimes these were on the same page!

Warning! Blurry Pic. 

This example is from the "Shades" page. They show 3 examples of using their shades products. Example 1 is super clear about what they used and where. Example 3 is also perfectly clear- what shade was used, how much, and why. Example 2? VAGUE AS HELL. It also had a small box of text about "how much is too much" that I found to be counter-intuitive for a beginning painter, advocating a "laissez-faire" attitude on washes. For a beginning painter, this was not helpful. However, it's countered by two great samples, so it works out to be a "meh" for me.

I have only checked out two sections of the DVD so far. One was the "Basecoating" section, and the other was the "Glazing" section. The Basecoating section has been super, super informative for me already. Just by watching the demonstrated watering down technique, I can see where I have room to improve. (Uh, that would be everywhere, folks!) I also saw how OTHER people hold their brushes and their approach to the model that has given me a hint that maybe more is NOT better after all.

The glazing section was incredibly cool for me. I truly enjoyed seeing ways to add depth and intensity to models- it was sort of like watching someone get their hair glazed... but with models. (Dudes, ask your lady people about hair glaze. It's awesome.) I want to try it (someday).

The DVD comes right IN the book- no weird sleeve or taped in envelope to lose. 

I've had a couple people in the store balking at the price. I can understand the concern, as it IS spendy. I did (and will) point out to those that are concerned on cost that I GLADLY spent $25 for the P3 video, used it over and over and over; and find the GW Guide to be FAR superior. It is well worth the money to me, especially with the well designed format and obvious THOUGHT that was put into how someone might want to use something like this.

The breakdowns and sections on each step of the modeling process inside the book are full of tips that I found very helpful (along with an interesting outright admission that FINECAST products are prone to warping and bubbles from the injection process), making the book more than a "painting guide". It's a great primer and starting point for a beginning or inexperienced hobbyist.

For the more advanced model enthusiast or painter, this product is a little tougher to see as useful. I didn't see anything "to write home about" unless the start-to-finish army guides are your thing.

Just having this book out and open ALMOST makes me want to break my models out again to start painting... which could well be worth the $50 price tag if it means my procrastinating streak is broken and I get SOMETHING done!

So there you have my take on it- I found it useful and will use it a lot, assuming I get back to painting. It is intended for a starting or inexperienced painter, but it's a well made product with thoughtful touches throughout to make a good, solid and useful tool for someone without a good painting background. 

[RPG] Check this out instead

No RPG material today. I'm busy finalizing the last minute details of a benefit for a local gaming couple.

Details here 

[RPG] Chemistry

In RPG's, I've found that the single most important element for a game to go well is chemistry.

Yes, maybe a little beverage helps....

Chemistry is inexplicable to those outside the game. In many ways, it's like obscenity- "you know it when you see it". I've had some games that were hilariously fun and I couldn't wait to play- but people watching from the outside had no idea what was good about it. I've also had games that, on paper, were stellar. Well known GMs, great players, interesting plot- but when the group was together, the chemistry was terrible and the game fell apart.

Recently I've seen games with great starting chemistry lose steam because a member of the group had to quit, and I've seen dying games take on new life with the addition of a single player. I've been impressed by the fact that in most cases, the key to good chemistry is a SINGLE person with a dynamic personality. At least in my area, when you add more than one 'big voice', things kind of go off the rails.

There's no crystal ball as to whether a game will work with the people in it or if you need to do some quick chemical adjustment. Because chemistry is fairly important to me, I often sit in on a session or hang out with the group I am considering joining before I agree to play in a new game. I know other people do a sort of interview to figure out if the people they will be playing with 'fit their needs' and others just hope for the best.

What experiences have you had with group chemistry, and what advice do you have for those having problems?

[RPG] Breaking Past Yourself

There's a guy I know at my local store who's pretty quiet. In fact, a much better way to describe him is "mousy"- he's very introverted, super passive and generally unlikely to stand up for himself in any way.

The character he plays is a whole lot like that, too. For the most part, this does't effect the game he's in, but now and then this isn't so great for him or the people he plays with. Recently, something pretty unpleasant happened to his character, and his response was - mild.  He just couldn't bring himself to do something "different" from his normal self, something crazy, foolish or even outraged.

It was very rough for me to witness as a bystander. I was furious and wanted him to "do something". However, that really isn't in his personal character, and he couldn't reach enough past his own makeup to act in line with another personna. 

At first I was very critical of this, and then realized that I am guilty of it too. I was specifically challenged to run a particular type of character recently, and I balked- HARD. I just wasn't comfortable with the things I would need to do in that kind of role, and felt it wasn't a good fit for me. I did move away from the kind of character I traditionally run, but I certainly did not do any real "break away" stuff in designing my new dude. 

If roleplaying is all about being someone else and exploring parts of yourself, these boundaries make it difficult to achieve something greater- and it's doubly hard when you don't know you're limited. I sure didn't- at least not until I looked closely at the situation. 

How do you break out of your own self and into someone else; move beyond your own personal tendencies and into new territory?

[40K] Show Me How

I am starting a new project soon, but before I get to it, I want some advice. You know me, I am always willing to give it out, so now I am going to ask for some.

I want a "clean, shiny" look for my next project; but I generally paint in a overwashed, muddy, dirty sort of way.
I personally love the look. I enjoy the over or undersaturated aesthetic a lot, as seen here:

This Maurader is one I personally painted, and is pretty representative of my ability and "groove".

There is also this guy (Mihalis and Back40K, This is for you...)

I really don't like yellow, but this guy is stellar. I love his washed out, grungy look.

So, if your paint style is a little messy,  how do you get results like this?

I'd love to have clean, crisp, sharp lines and colors. I would love to have the colors be "just right", rather than "too much" or "not enough". I have no idea how to do it.

Can any of you show me demos, videos, tutorials or other resources for a CLEAN paint job?

[40K] Musical Armies

There's a new guy in our league, and he's been trying different armies until he finds one he likes.

Tried Orks. Didn't like them.

Tried Chaos Daemons. Din't hate them, but decided they are "not for him".

Now he's trying IG. It sounds like he might be looking for yet ANOTHER army soon, but he's still undecided.

It reminds me a little of the owl...

How many tries did it take you to find your army of choice?

[40K] Chaos Daemon Help-Defeating Luck

All right, this one is for all the Chaos Daemon players out there (all two of you, haha). There's a new guy in our 40K league, and he's very interested in Choas Daemons. He's been using some pretty interesting figs as proxies while he plays around with builds and learns the game.

Of course I sent him over to Strictly Average, but for a beginning player, there was a lot there that was way beyond what he is trying to do.

His biggest problem at the moment is luck (or lack of it). Pretty much every single bad thing that could happen to his army HAS happened- troops just not appearing; HQ's getting eaten by the warp, crap like that. He has had some BAD luck.

So please help out; how do you overcome that?

[RPG] Are We Being Punk'd?!?

Last night was the restart of JR's Hellfrost campaign. Before game, he had emailed all the players and laid out how things were going to start and asked if we had questions. There wasn't any discussion on the list or any indication that the scenario was out of line, so he got things ready on his end and we showed up.

I had no idea what I wanted to play, and had thrown out at least 2 ideas prior to showing up at game session last night. Finally in a fit of desperation and mirth, I looked through the Savage Worlds Deluxe book and decided to alter a template.

I was quite literally JOKING when I decided "hey, a pirate sounds cool" and adapted said character template for play. I asked if boating would be helpful, and JR's reply was pretty ambivalent, so I discarded "boating" as a skill in favor of something else.

AND the scenario involves a long boat ride. Just my luck, heh.

JR's games are known for being just a little "over the top", but with serious themes and interesting plots. We're hacking away at the situation, with ridiculous jokes and laughter, when things went suddenly WEIRD.

The main NPC is hiring the party to travel from X to Y. The trip is a good solid 2 months of road time, and goes through some interesting and possibly not-so-friendly territory. We're negotiating our fee and the NPC is a right cheap bastard- so he's been tough to bargain with. Our group doesn't have a face, but we're doing our best given the situation. A member of the party decides to try to negotiate for a guide to be sent along with the group. The NPC is not interested.

NPC pretty much says "hey, I hired you guys to do this job. How you do it is up to you, but I am not giving you anything other than what we agreed on."

And here's where we get Punk'd.

The member of the party who wanted the guide just stalls. He essentially sits on his idea and won't let it go- no matter what JR or any member of the group says. He also refuses JR's offer of another character- it's all or nothing for this guy. It gets pretty heated- the rest of the group does not understand why he's doing this, and then he breaks out of character and is in essence, trying to bully JR into doing what he wants.

JR is trying to figure this out -on the fly. He genuinely and truly wants EVERYONE in his game to have a good time, and this one holdout is causing major friction on that point. JR had no intention of sending or running an NPC, and certainly doesn't want to reward this player for refusing to compromise in any way. But he also doesn't want to tell a player, "get lost". JR (and the rest of us) are kind of sputtering, trying to figure out what to do. Things come to a dead stop- which is another thing JR hates to have happen.

After a few minutes of "what the heck is going on", two members of our group sort of try to ignore it and move the plot along. I am honestly considering leaving the game because I am just not sure I want to deal with this guy's shenanigans. The other guy at our table is notoriously quiet and is typically not saying a word. JR is trying to herd the holdout back to the plot. And it's really, really awkward.

At this point, TheDude takes JR outside for a few minutes. I decide to make a different character for a variety of reasons. I make a guide- but not to placate the guy with the demanding attitude, but because the group genuinely needs someone with some road skills. One of the PC's uses party funds to "hire a man" and tada, I'm not a pirate.

JR comes back from his pow-wow with TheDude, and we are firmly shoved back to the story.

I'm playing Lannar, a plainspoken, loyal and honorable guide. Lannar is also a male, and well- I am not. I have very obvious lady parts, and there are more than a few misspoken "she" or "her" comments. So I adjust my "name tag" to say "dude" underneath my name. My "boss" adjusts HIS name tag to say "also dude" which adds some desperately needed levity to a very weird situation.

I'm going to stop here and say it. I said it to JR and I said it in front of the offending person. But not this plainly. Here it is, laid out.

I have NEVER seen anyone do that, ever. I have NEVER seen anyone break character and DEMAND something from the GM in such a petulant, disrespectful and juvenile way. 


I've seen (or heard about) some serious "dick moves", but this one takes the cake. I started playing RPGs as a bratty 12 year old that wanted to be catered to- but nothing I did even comes CLOSE to this level of insanity. I've heard of people stopping the game to tell the GM, "hey, you suck" and quitting. But I have never seen a guy basically try to bully the GM into doing what he wants like this before. 


I am firmly in the camp of "the GM is in charge" camp, so this one really broke my brain. I honestly and sincerely do not understand this guy's point of view or reasoning and it just baffles me as to why he would do this- and feel justified doing it. 


There was absolutely no remorse, no backing away from the position, no sense of hey, maybe I am wrong. He just sat there like he was perfectly in the right to expect his requirement to be met and damn the rest of us if we didn't agree. 


I'm worried about the party dynamic from here forward given that this guy has shown his hand that he is willing to derail the whole group to get what he wants. I'm hoping that we have a better handle on how to address it from here on, but I don't want to deal with that again. It was truly and honestly unsettling, and a little infuriating. 

I want to be clear that JR didn't do anything wrong in the setup, in playing the NPC, in being clear about what was happening. He was fully in charge at all times until the guy just derailed the session. 

I don't want to put JR on the spot.

I would like to hear- how would YOU have handled the "derailment"?

[Whimsy] Before the Grammar Gets Me

[Welcome to a bona fide rant. I don't really do it often, but this one's been on my mind for a while.]

Punctuate properly, please! (Among other things.)

For most of my adult life, I've worked with words in some fashion or another. I've held positions that used communication in some form or another throughout my entire career. I've done it all in person conversations, over-the-phone work, written materials, sales, marketing, journalism, proofreading, information management and much more. 

My name might be a clue that I LIKE words. 

I work with them because they are important to me, and so is the functional expression of ideas and concepts. I strongly believe in using language properly when possible.

I've recently begun working on some really fascinating projects with some very smart people. These folks are well-educated and make a killing in their fields. I do understand at some level that their fields aren't language, and perhaps language isn't as precious to them as I hold it; but there's a certain level of disregard that is driving me insane. 

Learning to use a comma and a period are things one does in early elementary school, and are not difficult concepts to master. Others' failure to use these important tools in written correspondence is one of my largest frustrations. They are "serious business" . They tell others to take a small break, or to STOP. They give you power! They let you tell other people what to do. 

I cannot grasp the concept of being a fully functional professional person without the ability to punctuate or properly match tenses. For you math geeks, it's probably a lot like the idea of not being able to add more triple digits without a calculator. I find it infuriating and more than a little insane-making when I read a post or article with awful spelling, no quotation marks, terrible run-ons and no real structure. 

SPELL CHECK. How much work is it to add a period in between thoughts? Why is "start a new paragraph for every new idea" so hard to handle? 

Understandably run-on sentences occur a mite more than ideal; it can be challenging for you to separate ideas when thoughts are coming a mile a minute. I try to forgive those as I've been guilty, too. I'm also very fond of the em dash and I'll give a guy a pass on that one. I cannot for even a moment "get" the total disregard for quotation marks I see nearly everywhere. 

I know.  There are a few tricky situations for those funny "commas in the sky", but for the most part; it is simple. Person A says something. It is then repeated for others to hear. Person A's comments go in quotations. 

Don't even get me started on "you're" and "your". I will go positively mental over this one. I'm honestly willing to forgive most other homonyms, because they really are not always intuitive. But FFS, "you're" makes it OBVIOUS it is a combination of two words! It's a contraction. It means YOU ARE. Saying "your" (a single word, meaning "it belongs to you") when you mean "you're" (two words, "you are") just makes me want to kill babies, or kittens.  

I could get a lot more specific, but I'll leave it at this: If you're not sure or get strange replies regularly; get help.

If you need some help, check out the following: (They are free!)

www.whitesmoke.com 

http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

http://wmjasco.blogspot.com/

And use a period! 

[Weekly Whimsy] A Deeper Look, Part 1

[Welcome to Weekly Whimsy! A different discussion, delivering data dealing with determinations and debate; deconstructing dames, DMs and discourse.]

Hear the voices

All the people- INXS, All the Voices

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ran short of ideas for something completely new this week, but I've been musing on something “recycled” for a bit now. I was motivated to pick it up again after my post Friday. I touched on a cognitive difference in understanding, using and manipulating an entire system, and to some extent I attributed this to gender.

My own comments got me ruminating about gender differences in gaming (again) and caused me to recall the FGRT. I wanted to revisit my responses (as I was uncharacteristically brief) as well as talk a little bit about those that responded as an overall group.

I dropped a note to Zak, and he kindly agreed to let me take over his blog (sort of), so here I am with my unrestrained commentary. These opinions and thoughts are mine. I don't speak for all lady gamers.

In fact, part of my point today is that the female gamer demographic is exceptionally difficult to pin down, even when given the opportunity.

The roundtable was held here- on a massively popular gaming blog, and the post got tons of redistribution across the web. Despite all that, only about 15 women responded to the questions. I noted this on my blog and I think I came across in a way I didn't intend. I didn't mean that Zak wasn't doing a good job of reaching women – in fact, I think the opposite. My point was more one of- why the heck aren't they responding? Out of 600+ followers (which might be a fraction of actual readers); only FIFTEEN women commented? REALLY?

What could be causing this? I know there are active, intelligent and interesting women out there who game. Many of them have their own blogs and are producing compelling and creative content. Folks like 20 Sided Woman, Commissar Carrie, Hurricane Girl/Cami and more are out there with fascinating voices.

Why is it so hard to get them talking; especially to EACH OTHER?

I do wonder how much of the reticence to reply was solely out of respect to the sheer number of questions. If it had been 2, 3, or even 4 questions it's possible there would have been more plentiful responses. It's hard to know, but I'll be reexamining both the questions and replies very shortly, so perhaps some conversation will be rekindled.

One of the things that struck me most out of the replies was that out of the 15 or so responders, only 3-4 of the women GM. While most all of the gals had tried it, not many continued to do so. Is this due to lack of confidence? Performance anxiety? Deference to more dominant personalities? Concerns about balance and structure? Fear of developing worlds, settings  or characters that exist merely to fulfill wishes or personal fantasy, rather than exciting places and people?  I can't speak for other women, but I know I've been struck by all of these and more. I'm working to change my own personal reticence to run a game, and hope to be up and at 'em within a few months.

I've been blessed to be surrounded by an imaginative, embracing and truly supportive gaming community for as long as I can remember. I've made innumerable friendships that are becoming essential to growing my skillset and developing my talents so that I can be a fantastic GM. I know that not all of female gamers are so lucky, but might want to take a stab at running the show.

What can the gaming community do to help grow creative, evocative and capable female GM's?

I'm more than just a bit intrigued by the possibilities of more communicative and active female gamers, and specifically GMs. I think we'd all benefit from having more women around- and for reasons much deeper than scenery.

In my local meta, I am NOT alone as a lady player. I personally know  a good 10-15 ladies who game, and I'm AWARE of at least a dozen more via a LARP community. This particular sense of solidarity has given me a sense of security and protection in some of the games I play. This has allowed me to explore some very dark and non-traditional roles without any fear of imbalancing the game. I've grown out of my "nice girl" confines and become something close to fearless when it comes to playing rougher, darker and more nuanced characters - with a good amount of credit going to the other women around me.

The IDEA that I'm not alone has given courage when it comes to doing things that interest me, that are compelling, and are richer in nuance and voice. All of these points are in effect solely by having women as compatriots in or around the game.

What would it do to all of us in terms of gaming if the head of the table were a lady? Wouldn't we be enriched, challenged, driven and tested more; or at least differently? A woman's view of far-off worlds in action (rather than in print such as fiction) might reveal a lot, and give us much to develop.

I'd love to find ways to address this chasm, and maybe I'll strike on some ideas for myself as I continue on in examining the roundtable. Next week, I'll be looking at the questions a  little more closely; with my illustrious tag full in effect. I hope you'll join me, and even throw some comments my way!



Be Well,

H/'Lo

[40K] Old Stuff Day - Repost: A Newer Player's Questions: Army Building

 In honor of "Old Stuff Day" for 40K bloggers, I thought I'd repost one of my favorite previous posts. It was not only well received (lots of comments) it's still pretty relevant for a new player. I wound up doing a series of posts as a 'spin-off' of this post, which were all really informative and helped me gather a large portion of the 40K for Beginners' project material..

 Enjoy!
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm thinking this might be a series until I get a better handle on what the crap 5th Ed is all about.

Yes, I think I have * FINALLY * decided what army I'll play. I just have to get figures. And that leads me to the question of the day:


What comes first in army building: the figures or the list?

I don't possess any figs of my own yet. I'm of the opinion that I shouldn't just buy crap willy nilly- I should have a purpose and an army or list in mind. However, there's been some encouragement to use available figs as proxies, building a list to suit them.

Going with the first option gives me control over what goes in my list, what I like and don't like, as well as what flavor or type of army I field. Going with the second limits me to what I have available, but I get to see if I really like the intended army before spending a metric crapton of cash.

Either way, I've discovered that I need one of those Army Builder things (I just happen to be testing one out right now) because it's not the math -it's the details and the math combined. I know I'll get better, but at the moment, I can't keep track of all of it at once.

So at the moment, I'm playing with numbers and imaginary dudes, trying to get a handle on point allowances and Force Org (you're supposed to have a lot of troops, right?) . See you at the next installment.

[RPG] Plot

I got so many wonderful comments on my Characters post! Thanks so much for sharing. I was reallys truck by how much I identified with some of the comments. I definitely agree that playing a character that allows you to be someone you're not is a fun (but tricky) thing!

One of my favorite characters, Jak, was just about opposite to me in every possible way. I liked playing him, but he was a constant challenge.

I'm really liking this series about the "core" elements of role-playing, and look forward to a lot of interesting discussions with you guys.

Plots seem to be a bit trickier. They're either great or terrible, in my experience. I've yet to be involved in a plot that was "meh", but I'm sure it's possible.

What makes a plot good? Is it personal involvement? Complexity? Depth and scope? Is it the interaction between the elements? Is it the resolution? On the flip side, what makes a plot bad?

How do you develop plots? What makes a plot seem natural and organic, versus railroaded or hammy? How do you incorporate mature (or silly) plots without offending? What do you do when your plot falls apart?

I can't wait to hear what you have to say! 

Space Marines

This is where I will post links and information for Space Marines players.

 I do not have any at this time. 

Chaos Space Marines

This is where I will post links and information for Chaos Space Marines players.

I do not have any at this time. 

Eldar

This is where I will post links and information for Eldar players.

I do not have any at this time. WIP as emails are being sent this week. 

Dark Eldar

This is where I will post links and information for Dark Eldar players.

I do not have any at this time. 

Blood Angels

This is where I'll put links and information for new Blood Angels players.


WIP.

Space Wolves

This is where I will post links and information for Space Wolves players.

I have not heard back from blog owners to add links on this yet. 

Necrons

This is where I will post links and information for Necrons players.

I do not have any at this time. 

[40K] Help for a new player callout: BLOOD ANGELS

So I'm not the only new player at the FLGS anymore! There's a new guy, Nick, who is super nice. I need links, links, links and MORE links to send his way for his Blood Angels. He's BRAND NEW- (played 2 games) and could really use some easy to understand strategy, tactics, codex discussion and more for his reading/learning pleasure.

Please help me help another new player! You guys have always come through for me... I want to pass it on.


Be Well,

Lo