Saving Somebody Else’s Seraphon

The only direction I was given was that the star priest was to be the most drab of the lot. OK, I can tone things down. I won’t skip on the details to make up for the lack of vibrancy on the model. I also won’t fail to make the skinks loud by comparison.

I’ll be putting in a couple of larger magnets in the base in order to get a grip on the tray. So far all of these minis are pretty good before I finish the bases like the trays.

From here I should be getting a flyer or two and a big fuck-off Spinosaurus to add to the mix. I have no idea what else my friend will be printing so it’ll be a surprise I can share with the rest of you.

So I got around to the more muscled members and thought Gila monsters would be good to work from. The color scheme of pink and black would generally be considered for Slaanesh forces in 40k but it’s one that occurs in nature. It helps that it doesn’t destroy my eyes in looking at the work for long periods of time.

Given that these are larger than the skinks I opted to use 30mm bases. I looked at trying to fit them onto 25mm bases but there was not enough real estate for purchase under the feet. My friend was very happy to hear that I hadn’t stayed with the 25mm as the bases were close enough to still use the figures for AoS. This is really the joy of miniature games without absolute base definitions for sanctioned play.

Some things cannot be unseen and are unnatural. Damn you Slaanesh and damn those known as scalies!

So I was told that my friend wanted an army with bright colors. Never give free reign to those who’s limits are few and might indulge in plans for what may seem insane. I regretted a life choice when I started painting.

After deciding I needed to put use to the fluorescent paint I’ve had on my shelf for years, my retinas were blasted by colors not meant for the natural world. You can see these skinks from orbit around Narnia and even find them with a black light. Repeat this at your own peril.

So not once but twice have I stepped on these figures and I was told it was OK. As much as I like my buddy I do not trust what he said and have taken it upon myself to do better that just give him the models as is. I took bits from the scatter foliage I had snapped and separated them from their supports to use them as additions to the headgear. Ferns are not a good idea to print. There are too many bits to break off even with using hot water.

I have had a tub of Golden’s coarse pumice additive sitting around waiting for me to use it. Having this tub is great for being cost effective but slow to use up. I mixed it with a copious amount of Modpodge (my first time using this product) and a generic brown acrylic paint. For the sheer quantity of what I have on hand I am set for another army’s worth of bases.

Once it was all thrown together I used a pallette knife to spread the grout like material around like an abrasive fondant. My Home Ec teacher would be proud as I got a fairly even measure across the top of the steel. I then went back and textured the top in order to make them look more like proper turf display boards.

The Raptodon Chargers and Hunters seemed like cool models to start on and I’m comfortable with freehand. Now, inspiration from a direction most people would not consider, fancy show chickens. Dinosaurs with plumage makes sense to me from a starting point of archeopteryx and the dilophosaurus crest reminded me of Polish chickens. I’d spam this entry with great looking chickens but I’ll throttle back to show the ones that impressed upon me most and link to a page that has some pretty interesting poultry posting.

Chickens Galore!

I’ve finished sealing the trays from the dollar store real quick so I can start putting models on and I don’t worry about setting them around my place.

They both got a wood stain applied and then sealed with varnish. I went to a local metal supply store I’d been partially aware of and managed to get some scraps that I sized for the trays. After cutting, I then slapped them onto a layer of contact cement to cure under weight for maximum adherence.

Be sure to check for scraps at metal supply shops or home improvement stores for the right amount of material to limit overpurchasing

So far this is a great distraction from fretting over the other figures as I also got some more 3D printed stuff from my friend. Thematic additions are going to be great.

I have removed the models from their previous bases to get on proper 3mm MDF. I was surprised to find models snapping. The first one got me but informed me that all the skinks were printed. The part that kept being a pain was cutting away their bases. These were lies and only held the shape of the regular plastic ones.

The dinos riding dinos was the plastic kit and I was happy to get them off after a chill in the freezer and prying them from the plastic 25x50s. The same went for the Slann Starmaster as I managed to avoid snapping the vines that acted as supports. The only downside is that I found these models all could’ve stayed on their previous bases because issue of magnets only came from the way they were kept.

Do not use the cut-to-fit magnetic fridge sheets for minis with magnets. They don’t bind to each other well.

I will be making the transport trays appropriate to the army being played

This is a spring clean challenge of self interest. I want to promote playing SAGA and I’m in a rut of working on my Harryhausen Hellenics after the phoenix, Marie, was broken multiple times after an awesome paint job. One of my friends from the FLGS that supplies me with my 3D printed stuff had a starter box sitting around partially assembled Seraphon that he had stalled out on. I talked him into starting SAGA, in exchange for working on painting his army.

I have a growing reputation for good paint so it makes sense and it gives me a way to play with some paint scheme ideas I have for the dinos in the Amazon army I have on hiatus. I want to be able to get others into the game I want to love beyond just building for.

I finished building the necessary models and came up with an initial setup as follows:

2 pts Levy (missle)

2 pt Hearthguard (mounted)

1 pt Warriors (foot)

1 Sorcerer

Hearing that he has both collected lizardman armies from One Page Rules I will fill out the ranks for a Warlord on Beast, Warlord on Flying Mount, a flying lieutenant, a Behemoth as well as a Titan to round out the monsters.

This part of the plan requires some proper trays and I’ve already picked a couple up from the discount store. A cheap transport option that looks better than the crap plastic tub he was using is a definite upgrade. Yes, I am a snob about making good looking, functional things for my friends. I care enough to put in the effort for a present I would be pleased to have myself. Mini painting to the point that I must press myself to give something away means its just right. Thankfully this is a spring clean and it’ll go back to clutter somebody else’s hobby den.