Can you believe that 1/12th of 2024 is already over? Where does time truly go? Since i’m trying to become better at documenting my hobby collection, I have decided to attempt to create a “Hobby Roundup” summary and overview of each month of my hobby. This will include notable collection changes, painting project, and my goals for the next month. While this is something very methodical, I am testing to see if it helps me be more self aware of how I am hobbying and my overall pile of potential changes over the course of the year.
This year I have two primary goal.
Be mindful of my collection growth.
While I want to grow my collection I want to grow it with models that I deeply desire to paint and play with. The goal is to remove models from the collection that will not be loved by me and give them to another home which will be loved. Using those shifted models I’ll sell off or trade for other models that I will use.
Significantly reduce the overall “In Progress” project list to Painted.
One of the most insightful things i’ve noticed about cataloging my collection (iCollect Everything Minaitures Edition) is that I have as many if not more in progress models than I do completed models. This is both due to lack of confidence in having the final model not living up to its potential as well as getting distracted.
Collection Additions
For this month I have been adding a significant number of models to my collection as i’ve started the Escalation League (2024 New Year, New Army: Escalation League Begins) with one of my local friendly game stores. Finally starting my Cities of Sigmar army I have always dreamt of.
I have also decided to subscribe to the Stormbringer magazine which delivers 4 weekly issues a month and often paired with models to help you grow your collection. I intended to share more about this magazine in the future to be sure to stay tuned.
New Additions to the Collection
Unit
Model Count
Source
Daggok’s Stab Lads
4
Purchase, new underworld warband for Kruelboyz
Wildercorp Hunters
11
Purchase, split Warcry box with a friend
Lord Imperatant
2
Stormbringer Issue #8
Swampcalla Shaman
2
Stormbringer Issue #9
Xandire’s Truthseekers
4
Stormbringer Issue #10
Total
23
two purchases and subscription
Xandire’s Truthseekers- Stormbringer MagnazineSwampcalla Shaman with Pot GrotLord ImperatantWildercorps HuntersDeathGorge Daggok’s Stab Lads
Photo Credit: Product Images shown above from the Warhammer community/store pages.
Models Sold off
To help pay for the models i’ve added this month and try to keep my total model count down, i’ve been trading models and selling them to other people in my local community.
Gutrippaz X 10, Killaboss with stab grot x2, Hobgrot Slittaz 10x, Kunnin Crew x6, Shaman & Pot grow x2 (gained this month). Total model count: 30d
Overall I am really proud of the fact i’ve kept pretty event with my total models coming in and out. I have even been on top of selling off models from the Stormbringer magazine off as they come in. Since my current primary army is Kruelboyz many of the models are duplicates and therefore unneeded.
Janruary Model Net= -7
Paint Projects
While for Janruary I have not finished many models I have certaintly started them. Starting with my Cities of Sigmar army I am definitely doing what I can to get as much dones as I can before the end of Phase 1 (February 18th) for the league. Stay tuned or follow along on my instagram https://www.instagram.com/crazmadsci/ for periodic updates.
Models Completed: 2
Scatter Terrain Portal
Dwarf Ref Bloodbowl
OnWards to February
The month of February will probably be my most ambitious month ever. If I accomplish it then it will gain a significant amount of momentum for throughout the year. We are almost halfway through and i’m starting to get nervous.
However this weekend I am giong to be stretching my tabletop experiences further than ever before and be heading to Nashville for an Age of Sigmar teams tournament i’m going to help run as their designiated score keeper. I have a feeling that this could impact my game and how I am as a miniature painter for some time to come.
Are you keeping up with your goals this year so far?
Have you ever gotten to a stage in your hobby journey where, you have forgotten what models you have? What about where they are located? How much do you have painted vs new in box? What about the giant pile of grey plastic you are too afraid to look at closely?
January 2023 I realized that I have hit the peak of my problem. Models were in my shed spread out in boxes, thrown together and were resulting in getting damaged, shattered and broken miniatures. Something had to change. I have always dreamed of a good way to organize and catalog my model collection but only had only a few failed spreadsheets to show for it. I needed something more robust than a spreadsheet.
Since I’ve started 3D printing and especially since I’ve started collecting models for Age of Sigmar I realized that I had no idea what was truly in my collection. I decided to figure out what I truly own and am working on.
When you cannot remember everything you own to be able to play with things without accidently buying or 3D printing more then there is a problem.
How my collection was stored in Janurary 2023
What I needed
I came up with a list of things I needed or desired in my database collection of my models. I also realized that I most likely would have to find something to fit my needs and not build my own. My time was limited.
My Needs:
A consistent catalogging system
Something that will display an image of the model
Filter searching
Capability to set my own catalog parameters
Cross platform compatability
Sharable with friends and family
If a product such as an app, have ongoing development and not a project that is half finished.
Searching for apps, I tried several different things with the closest to what I was looking for is Figure Case, Hobby Progress. However it did not appear robust enough to sustain all the data I was looking for. It could be an opportunity for some if they want something more straight forward.
The Long story short…. my Winner
Overview:
iCollect Everything is an app on Apple, Mac, Android and PC products as a way to catalog and collect all your collectibles. While there is capabilities for barcode scanning and pre-generated collections such as Legos, Wine, Movies, Games, Puzzles, Shoes, Model Trains, etc. There is not a category yet for Miniature Figures in tabletop gaming.
However the real power and utility in this app is in its custom collections section. I have begun using this app for over a year now and have had the time to really consider the pros and cons of the system, I believe that this is a tool that could make a major difference for other miniature hobbyists out there and is currently flying under the radar. This is providing so much utility and tools that other companies have attempted at but lets you cross until multiple brands, platforms, and more.
The Setup
Before I go into more of the pros and cons of this app and how I have made it work for my immediate needs let me give you a glimpse of what it looks like.
Left: PC desktop computer UI, Right: Android Mobile phone UI
Example Entry: Kruelboyz Killbow (Android perspective)
The Full Breakdown
Overall I am really happy with the app but understand that there are definitely growing pains associated to this app. With a very limited development team progress is slow. However credit must be given to the designers as it is extremely obvious of their commitment to their endeavor.
Lets start with the first obvious question. How much does it cost?
Con: iCollect everything does have a higher barrier to entry for the full app than almost any other app in its category I could find. Although advertised as free. It is extremely easy to fill up your “free entries” resulting in needing to fully purchase the app. From last glance I believe the pricing is as follows but is subject to change as the app further develops. I believe when I started using the app it was a one time purchase of $10 or so, for transparency.
Note: I did have to purchase for each platform Android & PC as PC was not released when I started using iCollect. I do not know if this is still the case
Pro: Using the custom collection I can set my collection anyway I want. Any order I want and with any field I want. There are limited rules such as only allowing one quantity field and value. I’ll do a full breakdown of my collection setup at the end.
Con: To input all your data it is a massive time commitment. There is no bulk editing, no bulk copying and uploading from your own csv is currently not functional for custom collections. This was probably the largest reason why it took me a year to input all my data so far. I have found it significantly easier to input from a computer than a mobile phone. My data entry skyrocketed once desktop on PC was released. Also a major pain point is that every data field required a value even if I didn’t have any data associated to that field.
For example there are several fields in my collection to mention if the model was 3D printed and data associated to that such as material volume and print cost. If the model was purchased from a manufacturer I am required to input any value and $0.00 was not allowed. Almost all fields with 0.01 are desired blank fields for my collection.
Pro: With embedded images associated to each entry on my collection it is incredibly satisfying to see the images associated to each thing. Currently most of my images are product renders or photographs but one day I hope to replace all with images of my personal stuff. You can currently associate up to 4 images per entry.
Pro/Con While iCollect Everything will let you export your collection to .csv, it currently does not let you import your spreadsheet to iCollect for custom collections. Even though there is no statement in the app that this functionality does not work for custom collections. I only found out by attempting to import collections and was told via email that the functionality is not supported.
To Summarize:
Pros
Cons
* Complete Customizable Catalog * Visualization of your collection for easy scrolling * Filtered Search on Every Category * Can export collection to .csv
* High Cost * Large Time Commitment for entry * Require Data for every field * No multi tagging system * No Import functionality for custom collections * Limited sharing visibility for custom collections * Have to buy Android and PC separately
My Wishlist:
1) Of my largest desires the capability to add multiple searchable tags to each entry in the same data would be by far the largest one. Being able to search for models in the collection by potential D&D class, weapon, race, etc. And with multiple parameters would be an incredible boon to help me dynamically pull models out of the collection for player characters and things like Dungeons and Dragons.
2) Improved sharing visibility for custom collections. On the Android app you are capable of generating a URL of your collection to share with others but I have never been able to have it work for me with custom collections. I am hoping that this utility would be improved in the future.
Summary
All in all I’d rate this app a 4 out of 5 stars.
While there are a good number of cons I cannot overlook and could turn off others and/or be current growing pains in regards to the app being in active development. I do not think that this app can be overlooked in its power and capability to help catalog and organize your miniature collection. While there are smaller features and sites to help track your model journey being able to have such robust capability to give an incredible perspective into my collection. Check out my 2023 summary below! All data was pulled from my custom collection.
Do you catalog your models? If so how do to catalog your models? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
I also will write up all the fields and data types I use in my custom collection if you’d like an idea of where to start if you decide to use iCollect Everything.
My Custom Collection Parameters
Here is the settings and parameters i’ve used to setup my custom collection.
Field Name
Data Field Type
Description
Title
Title
name of the model
Category
Text List
Miniature, Bust Terrain, Scatter
Model Count
Quantity
The quantity of how many of that model I have. Can only Have 1
Model Number
Text Field
used for personal library reference
Damaged Count
Text Field
log if that model needs repairing
Status
Text List
Model progress; New, In Progress, Painted etc
Army, Team, Category
Text List
subcategorization such as army name
Game System
Text List
What game the model is used for
Total Value
Value
Estimated Value
Digital Location
Text Field
file path of STL location for 3D printing
Storage Location
Text Field
location of model in physical storage
Magnetized
Toggle
True/False
Date Added/Created
Date Picker
Date of model purchased or 3D printed
Date Finished
Date Picker
Date of when model was finished (or 2030 as a palceholder)
Last week I posted I paint job of the Hill Giant Tyrant Ogi Skullcrusher and my experimentation for painting skin. While it was setting my baseline for skill and observing room for improvement when painting skin I also really wanted to finish the model.
Since I already spent quite a few painting sessions on the miniature and already am behind schedule in painting my Frostgrave game with over 15 miniatures over the next month I decided to try in more detail the usage of citadels contrast paints. I am still very much new to using contrast paints and acknowledge a lot to learn. However here are some of my first experiences and observations using the paint.
What Are Contrast Paints?
Contrast paints are a paint formulated by Games Workshop to help assist new painters or even those who choose to speed up their painting process. Contrast paints are designed to base coat, shade and highlight the miniature in a single coat and most commonly used over a light undercoat. By suppling so many steps in a single application it can help a novice painter glaze over some technical steps and save valuable time going back to apply multiple coats or even colors to achieve similar effect.
The largest benefit of these paints can be used in tandem with a zenithal highlight (light color prime over a dark like the sun is shining at its zenith). Contrast Paints appear similar to a wash or shade but also appear somewhat thicker to allow for full coverage in painting the model.
While there are other companies who have created paint similar to the contrast paint, access to Games Workshop paints are widely available in my area and are considered by some to be the best of their type.
My Bias
Since the release of contrast paint in 2019 into the hobby space, I admit I’ve avoided buying and using a them. Having watched many YouTube channels during their release reviewing the product line the consensus was along the lines of interesting but not necessarily valuable to the experienced painter. You see the market of contrast paint was aimed towards the new painter as a way to do several painting techniques in one; base coat, shade, and highlight. Why would a experienced painter want to use them? An advanced painter has significantly more control and finesse doing these things the old fashioned way. As for me, why would an aspiring painter use them if it takes away from the practice of other techniques. I aim to grow not necessarily avoid tasks.
Over time however I’ve begun to notice an increase of usage of contrast paints in various applications for people. Many paint models for their games and are absolutely happy with the tabletop standard contrast paints provide. There is a growing category of people who have begun to use contrast paint as a unique tool in various situations providing yet another SKILL to use rather than a shortcut. Due to the increase in the latter I’ve decided to over come my prejudice and try them for myself.
I will also admit the that cost of contrast paint is something that has turned me off over time as well. Contrast paint can be roughly 40-50% more in cost than a standard container of paint.
My First Use of Contrast Paint
I was inspired to use contrast paint for the very first time during my woodworking deep dive color palette test. I saw several people in the painting community painting wooden objects such as doors and barrels with contrast. I absolutely loved how they turned out and asked “What was your process?” “Did you use a particular color?” The response: Contrast Paint.
Since contrast paints are commonly referred to as a “transparent filter” I loved seeing the difference in behavior using the three different undercoats: white, gray, and black. The biggest difference was noticed in the Gore Gunta Fur Contrast Paint. With a white primer the paint appears more red as opposed to brown.
I absolutely loved these colors and to be honest testing contrast myself on these tavern tiles made me excited to use contrast paint in my arsenal for other projects.
Contrast paints tested for Wood painting deep dive
My First Real Application of Contrast
After the wood working testing and not knowing how I wanted to finish painting the Hill Giant after my experiment with skin I realized that there were three areas on the Hill Giant that I technically had contrast paint for: Wood, Leather, and Fur. This was the perfect opportunity to see the contrast paints in a real application for a three dimensional miniatures instead of a relatively flat base. This distinction is valuable as contrast paints are intended to help add shade to a model.
For this test I attempted to experiment with three different starting processes to see how they responsed and behaved.
Tree Trunk: this tree trunk is mostly white but technically a zenithal highlight and would represent the most default usage of contrast paint. This would ideally produce shadow and contrast upon the addition of the contrast paint.
Fur texture: I painted a light grey color as a uniform bright undercoat to see what would happen. With a consistent color and not preshaded. This would be most similar to the white primed Gore Gunta Fur painted base from above.
For the leather I wanted to try to use two pre toned colors and see if the contrast paint was transparent enough to be impacted by the contrast paint and therefore potentially produce two variants of leather.
Hill Giant Prepped for Contrast Paint
The Leather
When I applied the snakebite leather contrast paint to the leather you can absolutely see below that the contrast paint completely over powered the under coat color of the hill giant. There is zero indication that any work went into painting the leather differently. This was by far the most disappointing portion of my testing with contrast paints. In order to fully use them the way I want to in the future I will have to learn more methods to thin down the contrast paints or mix them to increase the variety of color and tones for the paint itself.
To help compensate for this singular hue in color I did end up dry brushing and a small amount of edge highlighting to try and get more of that worn leather look.
Close up to the Leather work after Drybrushing
Fur and Wood
Applying the contrast paint to the wood and leather also yielded interesting results for me. While the fur behaved approximately as expected with darker recesses and lighter tops the wood overall did appear very splotchy. While this works very well for a tree trunk as there is no uniform color to the bark of a tree I am left frustrated in the consistency of the paint and my skill working it. I found the paint pooling in locations and not applying in a smooth layer. Again learning how to thin out the paint would be ideal.
Highlighting
At this state of using contrast paint I was largely disappointed. I know I am not the most skilled of painters but was frustrated that I could not move the paint in the direction I wanted to go and could not anticipate the results. Which is of course silly because the whole purpose of using these paints was to see how they behaved and to learn and grow.
Deciding to move forward and see what would happen I decided to apply more dry brushing and highlights to the contrast areas of the model in order to get more areas to pop and add variety of color. I added some of my original light gray color to the fur and some light brown to the tree. Overall I am really happy. I do and think overall there is much more life to the model and applying highlights yourself over the contrast paint is a necessity.
Perhaps I just need to learn more to add skills of contrast paints to my arsenal overall? What else could I have done?
Hill Giant with Highlights
Painted Hill Giant
In the end I am really happy with this model and the quality of its paint job. This is a fantastic tabletop standard piece and looking at it across the room brings a smile to my face. There is always aspects of any project you want to grow upon but in the end I think this figure is a great representation of my current skill and knowledge.
I also am really happy with the usage of some vallejo earth texture paste and a mixture of grass toughs to add final touches to the base. I tried to add the tuffs in between the rocks where grass or shrubbery would grow.
What’s Next?
While I have learned to no longer write off contrast paints and consider them a valuable tool. I definitely realize that I want to do more with them. Talking to some other hobbyists and watching more videos I realized that the use of Contrast Medium or some water will help thin down the contrast paint. I think perhaps the use of thinning down my contrast paint could help me unlock its potential. There is also different types of contrast paints. There is so much I can do and learn!
Maybe contrast paints deserve their own deep dive? Do you use contrast paints? What has worked for you and not? Lets start a dialogue to add this tool to our range of skills. How do you feel the model turned out?
Recently on my hobby desk I picked out the Hill Giant Tyrant Ogi Skullcrusher from the Lost Adventures Volume 1 Kickstarter to paint.This was largely before I decided to dive into my Frostgrave series and I decided to attempt to work towards paining some of the models that I have printed. I refuse to call it a pile of shame but rather a collection of opportunity since I am really proud of my printed model collection. 2022 I’m looking at you as a major shift towards painting my backlog (already thinking of next years goals).
Hill Giant Printed Model
One of the things I wanted to do and focus on with this model was to set a baseline for myself and figure out what kind of questions I had when painting skin on models. You see in the past I have almost only used a flesh skintone paint and a wash in the past and call it done. This results in a glossy dirty finish of my miniatures. You can see the image below of some of my past painted models (2018-2021). Some of these represent models that I’ve painted perhaps only 20 miniatures ago (took a long break in 2019-2020) this does not include any of the terrain and building painting.
Previously Painted Figures
This collection showcases two 3D printed models and 3 figures from Reaper Bones. Other than the lack of depth of expression, and in the case of the bugbear on the far right any facial features painted what so ever. You can see I have quite a long way to go for improvement.
Other observations I can draw from these are a few things.
Even though I have painted very few models I feel as if my skill has grown tremendously
The skill sets and tools I have at my disposal for painting miniatures have grown.
So it is the perfect time to attempt to gauge my current baseline of skill for painting skintones. As I want to document my growth in the hobby more and current understanding to watch my growth of long period of time these baselines are incredibly helpful. I also attempted to dig more into contrast paints, how to use them and expectations of the paint but there is enough there that I am going to release a contrast paint deep dive part 1 from this model next Monday!
The Research
Around the time I really wanted to do more research around painting skin I was listening to a fantastic miniature painting podcast. I love to listen to and highly recommend: Paint Bravely the Podcast. In their July 5th episode “The Best Primer is NOT Black, White, or Grey” they discuss that using a red brown primer on models is great on showing the blood flowing through the figure. It is incredibly rare not to see a red or rosy hue on people of skins somewhere.
I also watch Squidmar Miniatures youtube and keep going back to one of his “Professional Painting Secrets – Squidmar Masterclass”. I have continuously watched the first 20 minutes of him painting the muscles of the bust. I really appreciate him breaking out into photoshop and explaining more about muscles. However in some ways I am still confused (more of that to come).
Regardless, this is a great spring board for me starting to do more.
The Inspiration
Now that I have more knowledge as to the mentality of painting skintones the second thing I struggle with is what colors to use. However as I was going through the Shadowfey Kickstarter updates for my Frostgrave buildings I noticed that they included a painting guide for the giants they released. I used their guide as the initial color reference and found paint similar in my collection although not perfect (thats ok).
Printable Scenery’s Giant used as inspiration
Paint In Progress
Using the Printable Scenery guide as a starting point I used paint conversion charts online to attempt to get as close as I could. The largest challenge for me is that I did not get a large chunk of time to paint and constantly had to remix the same tone since my workspace can dry out my wet pallete if i’m not careful and its been incredibly dry lately. This is when my paint journal came in really handy, I would commonly paint small squares next to my “official” mix to see how it compared before placing on the model. If you don’t keep a paint journal I highly recommend it. You can actually see all my “test” mixes next to the original as tiny dots clustered around a main one. I really struggled with my mix when I started using Elf Skintone.
For the very first base layer I used Citadel’s Deathclaw Brown, Terracota & Scarlet Red from Vallejo Game Color. I attempted to mix it so that way it had a strong red brown tone and after painting it on the model I actually really loved it. It felt like I already had great variable of the skin tone and a color I really appreciate.
Layer 1 (Mix #1): Deathclaw Brown, Terracota & Scarlet Red
I then used this layer and mixed in more Deathclaw brown to lighten it up and painted on top. This was the beginning of my first area of confusion. Watching the Squidmar master class it showed that I was supposed to paint the lighter tone into the muscle recesses and use the dark I believe only for the underside of the muscle. This is what I attempted here but do think it was the beginning of just “dark in the recesses” painting behavior.
Layer 2 (mix #1): Mix #1 + Deathclaw brown
I began to then continue building up and attempt to slowly paint less and less on the model to give it a better transition. This time my mix included the Vallejo Game Color Elf Skintone
Layer 3 (mix 3): Mix #2 + Elf Skintone
I then built up two more layers and the 5th layer was barely applied.
Layer 4 & 5: Elf Skintone & mix of Elf Skintone and Beast Hide
At the end of the skin I was torn on using a wash and for the sake of this experiment I decided against using a wash. Perhaps it would have lent itself to more depth? I have been attempting to improve my skills with layering and am finding myself using washes less on my paint jobs. I will definitely need to back to using shades and washes and attempt to use them in more sophisticated ways.
There was definitely a small bit of painting fatigue due to the number of painting sessions this took, getting large chunks of time to paint is really hard with small kids. While I would have liked to put more time on his skin I was happy. Also the six foot rule for how it would look on a game table told me it looks awesome enough to play with. The one benefit there is that the more definite and darker muscle is visible across the table and showcases him well.
Quick Reference
One thing I made for future reference was a handy quick reference of my layers, its overall transition, and ratios of paint mixed in my painting journal. I actually really loved how it came out and let me know if this would be useful for you and if I should continue to include my reference guides.
Hill Giant Skintone Reference Guide
Painting After Skin
After I finished painting his skin I still felt the need to experiment. The first experiment that I did was to see how I felt about using a blue linen or leather on his waist.
After throwing on some paint I realized it was absolutely not what I wanted on my model. Also thanks for the conversations and ideas from the 3D Printed Tabletop Discord.
I decided to revert back and paint his clothes a classic leather color. I wanted to showcase two colors of cloth with a reddish fur. So instead of trying a new color I decided to try some of my contrast paints which I do not have as much experience with. However II think a conversation about my obversions and questions around contrast paints deserve their own separate discussion, stay tune for next week on that!
Areas of Improvement
As for the skin there are definitely areas where I feel like the darker recesses on the model are too thick and transitions too short. I feel as if I should have had more visible transitions. Several of my middle layers such as #2 and #3 are not nearly as visible.
The lighter color paint and layers definitely overpower the red hue of rich living flesh I was going for. While I did end up with a Caucasian skintone it was not as rosy or red hue as I wanted. This made me remember at the very end that I should have used more of a glaze of thinner consistency which would help the transistions as well.
Lastly I realized I have no idea how some muscles of the human body actually work. For example I had no idea how to appropriately paint his back and hands. You can see that the transitions in muscles are very thick, not as well definite and look kind of goofy.
In progress shots of back and hand
Finished Image
While I do admit I need to take more photos of this guy I am extremely happy with his final result. Check it out and let me know what you think. Biggest highlight is that these are probably the best eyes I’ve ever painted.
What’s Next?
I definitely want to continue focusing on improving my knowledge and experiment a whole lot more with different skin tone colors and also increase the amount of diversity in my models. Learning more about the skin of different people around the globe is going to be a ton of fun and I want to see if I can truly capture peoples heritage in color.
Next step in this experiment is my testing of different base colors for undead flesh before I paint models for the Necromancer Warband.
As my regular readers would know I have been working towards printing 100% of the models from both the Lost Adventures Volume 1 and Lost Adventures Volume 2 Kickstarters. I have always been a fan of the magnitude of models and variety of terrain and miniatures that come with each project and at such a great price point. However my absolute favorite thing is that this is one of the best collaborations of artists representing the sculpting community for 3D printing in the tabletop space. It is a fantastic way to get a taste of the talent that is out there in the community if you are new to the hobby for your games. I have discovered several of my favorite artists this way.
What may not be as common of knowledge is that I am a volunteer test printer for the past three Kickstarters after they were looking volunteers after the original Lost Dragons Kickstarter in 2018. I of course offered my services and have been helping the gang there ever since. I have immensely enjoyed getting surprised each time I print something new as I have no idea what i’ll be asked to test, the size of the model, or what it even looks like. Talk about fun, it is kinda like Christmas.
Well the time has come! The newest Kickstarter has officially launched! Check out and show them some love, while unlocking some of those juicy stretch goals! If you want to see some of my personal experiences with a few of the modes thus far read on!
In honor of the newly launched Kickstarter I thought i’d share some of the models I tested that are coming with the Kickstarter. Make sure to follow the blog and check back on the homepage for links to the individual printing logs which include how long it took to print and total cost of each print. I also add assembly information along with the profile settings for my prints if you have any questions on how things are put together.
Lost Adventures Volume 3 Model Preview
Disclaimer: Let me preference this to say that I am not affiliated in any way with the Lost Adventures and am merely long time consumer who has participated in some of the test printing for the various Kickstarters over the years. I am however a major fan of their products and have been given permission to post my print data and logs like I would other models coming off my printer. I am a big fan of their work and am merely writing this to express my excitement about the project and sharing that with my readers. Models shown below may not be their final form as they are actively in development based on testing feedback and the discretion of the Lost Adventures Co.
This Kickstarter is unique in that it is broken up into eight “Core Collections” of models all based on areas in or surrounding the GreenSea, a region featured in Lost Adventures Volume 2. A Core Collection could be purchased for $20 in this Kickstarter if you are merely interested in just one area. Therefore I am going to breakdown and organize my prints into their Collections as I have no idea how these will be bundled and sold in the future.
Blasted Isle
Fire Elemental
For the The Blasted Isle i’ve had the pleasure of printing just one of the Fire Elementals that are available in the Kickstarter. This sculpt is so much fun and incredibly easy to assemble.
Figure is on a 75 mm base and is roughly 5 1/2 inches tall.
For the Heart of the Greensea I have had the pleasure of printing some adorable baby monsters and a Clay Golem. These were done on my Prusa Mk3s FDM printer as all miniatures are tested in both FDM and Resin. Periodically I’ll test in either as the need arises. FDM Print Profile and Support Settings.
Baby Phantom Panther
Clay Golem
Baby T Rex
I have also printed one of the swamp trees from this collection. I can honestly say i’ve never had a swamp tree in my rapidly growing list of terrain but now I want more and can’t wait to add draping vines to this gnarled tree.
Below are the models that I tested and printed for the Kobold Coalition. While this is only a mere sampling of what is in store for the Kickstarter this sampling has some of the best character and storytelling i’ve ever had in a set of models.
I think my absolute favorite models so far are the Kobold collection! These kobolds are unlike any other kobolds on the market. I absolutely love the scale of these miniatures as they still represent small races but are not too small that they are a pain to paint such as my reaper kobolds (which I’ve never finished to this day). These come with so much storytelling that I’ve been seriously contemplating my first ever diorama to feature them. One key element about these Kobolds mirror the growing sentiment I commonly experience playing in 5th edition D&D which is humanizing monsters. These Kobolds are humanoids much like elves, dwarves, halflings etc. They have jobs, families, kings and entertainment. Is it right to just take a party into a dungeon and wipe them out completely?
Creating a town for these Kobolds for my players to explore will only further tug at their heartstrings as to what to do with these tiny creatures. Or perhaps Kobolds will start to become part of culture as minstrels, bartenders, town guards, etc. I see so many uses and varieties for them.
I also find it interesting that out of the now four Kickstarters done by the Lost Adventures Co, three have contained a different variety of Kobold. Is this a growing trend? Is the race of Kobolds going to continuously grow in variety each Kickstarter? I really hope they do because I’m absolutely loving their unique nature. Example: Fey Dhok Kobolds from Lost Adventures Volume 2, which appears to have more coming in the Heart of the GreenSea models!
While testing these models I’ve printed the set in both resin on a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k as well as my FDM Prusa mk3s. Feel free to check out my FDM print and support settings.
If you are going to make a splash with a massive storytelling model why not capture the king of dinosaurs and use it as your personal mount? The Trex with Howdah not only has inspired my imagination but is also one of the absolute best keyed model i’ve ever assembled. You can tell the Lost Adventures Co is only getting better and better and delivering fantastic models to your tabletop.
To be absolutely honest i’m terrified of being able to paint this model and do it justice.
Also one great thing is that you can choose if you want this T-rex with horns or without Horns as it currently comes with two variant heads.
Catapult
Now we have kobolds in barrels for protection why not also include their own personalized siege. The Trash Guard has come prepared. Why not sling kobolds from a Catapult? This model is so much fun as I imagine the Kobolds in Barrels hiding as they fling themselves over the ramparts of a castle to invade it. Or perhaps it is merely a form of cultured enjoyment like a Ferris Wheel? No matter what I’ve really enjoyed printing and assembling this model.
In this collection i’ve only FDM test printed one of the laborers which unlocked as a $160K stretchgoal. This halfling character is a lot of fun and super easy to print.
Last but not least I had the chance to print a bit of the Moonlit Mountains. This icy terrain looks absolutely incredible and am really excited to paint up the pine trees I tested printed for my upcoming Frostgrave board i’m planning.
Also did I mention that there is an arctic owlbear!?!?! Although we haven’t quite talked about this yet on the site Owlbears are my all time favorite Dungeons and Dragons monster. I have been excited about arctic owlbears ever since I read the “Ecology of the Owlbear” article in Dragon Magazine from 1995. So happy they have become a thing again with and the Icewind Dale campaign brought them into 5th edition however I have yet to own a model. Now I do!
Pine Tree
Arctic Owlbear
Conclusion
Even though I have had only a small taste of the Uncharted Lands Kickstarter currently live I am really excited about what I am seeing. Of the past Kickstarters to date, Lost Adventures Volume 1 has been my favorite as a catch all of anything id need on my game table. However this one might surpass as a favorite due to its wide diversity of different terrains and file types. I am not someone who would normally back a campaign over just a small biome like underwater, frozen, desert, etc. This is because I have so little campaign or content in those types of regions. But as a bundle of a variety of biomes I can’t miss this.
If you want to see more of the various test prints from this Kickstarter check the imgur links on the Kickstarter page to see what the other testers have been able to produce.
Can’t wait to see what else is in store and I’ll be sure to update my print data as I can.
Is there anything you are really excited about? Do you have a favorite print? Let me know in the comments down below.
Here begins the common dilemma. How the hell should I store my miniatures? One of the largest reasons of wanting to collect and craft miniature figures is seeing incredible photos of peoples homes with decades worth of miniatures in incredible vast game rooms. That is the dream! In these pictures i’ve seen people use makeshift bookshelves, wine racks, wall mount systems, tackle boxes and so much more to store their miniatures. However I do not have that kind of space.
Although my collection is modest approximately 348 (yes i counted) miniatures as of June 30, 2020 . It will easily get out of hand quickly as I print more and more miniatures. The question is how do I store them? What is a great out of the way method to store that wont damage my minis and protect against a growing baby into a toddler that will discover everything?
In the 2018/2019 years before my long hiatus from the craft my husband and I began working on a miniature storage system which would help to hold all of our miniatures. I’ll get into that later but in the meantime lets look at my current miniature statistics to look back on in the future.
Miniature type
# Own
primed
paint in process
painted
Total
FDM Printed
73
5
7
13
98
SLA Printed
3
4
3
1
11
FDM & SLA
1
1
Reaper
119
12
48
6
184
Misc unclassified market minis
27
27
54
Total: 348
Of the above my far my most common miniature stash at the moment is the Reaper bones collection of which i bought a massive box of the bones 2 in 2014. Overall my “painted” and completed collection is small with 20 total and only a 5.7% complete miniature collection. I do however have a 24.4% paint in progress or needed to be re-based miniature collection for future storage.
Time to set some goals:
Monthly Goals
Paint 3 miniatures a month, at least 1 must be reaper miniatures.
Base and/or finish 10 miniatures a month
This alone should almost double my completed collection in just over a month.
This is without a doubt a challenge i’ll always be having but i’m sure going to try to fight the “pile of shame”.
