Lazarus Project P1

Hmm, suppose I should at least update on my week. Let's see, modeled for a friend, editing one of my novels, joined a graphic novel club, taking a pottery class, worked on Tron suit, and made cookies! Moving on to what I really care about, I needed a little break from painting the army, so pulled an old BJD project out to begin work. Up on the modding table is Lazarus, also affectionately known as my itty bitty servitor. He's not actually from the 40k universe, but he was inspired by techpriests and Necrons in his creation.

Story wise, Lazarus is a robot from a future world where humans are nearly extinct after several persistent wars. Living in a city-state where robots and androids outnumber humans 5:1, Lazarus is a systems operator where he manages the computers and machines of a war compound and later production factory during peace times. He maintains some humanistic elements to easily convey diagnostics to humans, but his programming remained relatively basic. After extensive use and facing replacement from newer models, he was reformatted with a controversial alchemic prototype to give greater depth to robotic emotions.

But to spare you extensive, boring reading, here's some concept sketches:

Like Family Photos, Only More Bad@$$

I went to the local game store, the Wizard's Keep, stocked up on supplies (sans replacement bases to the ones killed), painted more bases, then stole some props for some scenic photos of the three knights I have complete. I realize while I love photos, the high res shows all of those little errors I made while painting. Must...resist...self...criticism... Anyhoo, here's Stuart, Percy, and Bartholomew for your viewing pleasure.

All Your Bases...

...through strategic means now are possessed by the collective group.

This week I decided to get some bases made up for the army. Inspired by the bases made to look steampunk or ancient runes, I decided to make the terrain of the bases look like an ancient fallen city of machines. We'll get to that result later, but in the meantime, you must sit through my process. I decided to use my favorite sculpting medium, polymer clay. I personally use Super Sculpey for the colors, but it's a little weak. If you want polymer clay, use FIMO. If you prefer just painting and don't care for clay color, use an epoxy like Milliput or Apoxie Sculpt for added durability.

The first thing I wanted to do was make some gear molds. I have 16 bases, so saved some of the sculpt time by making a mold. I made a large one over some gears and jewelry I thought had the right texture using white Sculpey III...which is good in bulk but really freakin' soft, so be careful working with it when baked. I then scored the area with a wire brush to create a terrain texture in the negative space of the mold. With a mold this big, I can get many different angles for the bases without it looking repetitive.

Organization: Next to God Emperorness?

After a very tragic accident in which I knocked off a terminator’s arm while carrying him cupped to my chest (yes my boob knocked off his arm, moving on quickly now), I decided the next order of business is get proper storage for the Knights. I was directed around to different foam cases available online or at the local game shop, but I wasn’t overly impressed with the units to get them myself. Besides, I got a Hobby Lobby gift card feeding my addiction to crafting that needed exploitation. So a hop and a skip over to my version of an opium den, here’s what I produced:

And that red tote will be the perfect accent to my Knight’s red trim!

Merry Freakin' Christmas!

I don't care if it's heretical, Merry Christmas from me and my resin brats, the Vicis Vindicti! Pardon their primer, I took these before I began painting them.

The Gift of WTF!?!

I love getting gifts. Any gift will do. I once got ridiculously excited when someone gave me carpet samples. I do a victory dance every time I get flowers. I paraded around my new blender like it was Simba. But if you think I act giddy getting gifts, you should see me giving one. I get about as excited as when Smeagol gave Frodo those bunnies to munch on.

Me: *throws gift at feet and dances around excitedly* Eat them! Eat them!
Friend: Paige, that's a glass Christmas ornament.
Me: *chomps into package*

Point is, I love giving gifts. I usually get the inspiration for a unique gift idea early on, buy the stuff to make a bunch of gifts for my friends, procrastinate like crazy, then curse myself for not buying gifts as I haphazardly throw these gifts together to finish them in time. I then spend way too much time wrapping them because I love gift wrapping.

This year was like any other, except I was wise and made coupons for the gifts I planned to make so I wasn't rushing to get them done by Christmas. Plus, they get to chose how they want their gift made. This year I custom painted journals for two friends as "sample goods" and gave coupons to my other friends so they can pick the theme...and I can procrastinate longer. I'd never painted journals before, but these turned out really well. I even had them done long before the party and wrapped all fancy dancy. I gave the gifts out the other day...and the wrapping paper wouldn't come off the cover of the journals! Turns out, with all of the rain we've gotten, the clear coat on the journals didn't dry completely. So...yeah. It was an ugly mess. Thankfully the clear coat was dry enough to wash the paper off, but I still was embarrassed the whole thing happened. Life goes on, though. As long as they liked their gifts, I think it makes for a funny story.

Nonetheless, lesson learned. I went out and BOUGHT the rest of my gifts.

Girl in the Gameshop: Origins

Having a stare down with 15 assembled and primed Grey Knight Terminators should evoke some sense of pride for the Imperium, the fight against heresy, or at very least a humbling respect for the hobby. Alas, all that ran through my narrow minded head was “These little dudes are pretty”. Chastise me as you will, sacrifice me to the Astronomicon or whatever is custom for dealing with ignorant n00bs or ditzy girls, but I at least will own up to what I am. Yes, I am a n00b who just now cracked open a codex to read the rules instead of look at the pictures. Yes, I am a girl. And not one of those cool gamer chicks, either. My room is filled with dolls and stuffed animals that have really stupid peppy, happy names. I wear dresses and heels and gripe about my hair. My car is pink. Yeah, I’m one of those girls. And this girl is now the proud owner of 15 assembled and primed Grey Knight Terminators that now have really stupid peppy, happy names.

This one is Stuart.