The Rookery

[Rook]

rookery (noun) - A dense collection of housing, especially in a slum area.
- Oxford Dictionary

Welcome to the Rookery! The name isn't exactly what I was looking for, but it somehow amuses me, so it'll work. I started playing HeroQuest when I was a kid living in Portsmouth back in 1990 and played it constantly for years, spending countless hours painting, customizing my miniatures, and making up quests for my friends and I to enjoy. Living in the UK meant I had a real connection to that genre that I found somewhat missing when I moved to Canada, so I fell out of sync with that whole hobby for ages.

Flash forward many years and my brother snags a near mint copy in box and gives it to me for Christmas. Completely awestruck by the trip down memory lane I found myself diving headfirst back into High Adventure in a World of Magic... and then promptly doing what I'm sure many a return hobbyist does next: Raiding my parent's loft to see what I can find!

Here I'm going to try and chronicle my journey; showing off miniatures, furniture, quests, games... basically whatever suits my fancy. I'll also share what is inspiring me at the time, so hopefully it will spawn some discussion and help motivate us all into getting the most out of our hobby!

Current inspirations include:

RemyT's painted collection thread from years' past: http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=1919 I know this is from years ago but I couldn't help but be completely captivated by it! Can't wait to try out some of those textures on my own furniture!

Apersand's stuff thread: http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=1849 Simply fantastic stuff in here, and I'll likely be swiping many an idea gold mine from here. Going to be trying my hand at doing a throne like his shortly!

Brush Stroke on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brush.stroke.77?fref=ts His HeroQuest stuff is great, and I took my basing idea from his.

What am I working on now:

Currently I'm starting work on the heroes. It seems a logically place to start, and gives a great opportunity to see how much my painting has changed in the interim.

One on the left was done when I was a kid using a mixture of toll paints and whatever I could scrounge from my father's hobby work space when he wasn't looking. The one on the right still needs the base done and some highlights on a few spots (Hair and sword for example), but I'm happy with it thus far. I went for a paint scheme similar to the one shown on the character sheet, just decided to go with the blonde rather than the pure white (I tried it first and was getting more 'old man' vibe than 'mysterious elf').

And so it begins...

[Goblin-King]

Always a blast to dig out those old horrors!
We all have to start somewhere...

The new elf looks great. Keep em' coming.

[slev]

Nice progress.

Are you going to strip the old elf, or just leave him as a memento?

[Anderas]

I like the left one more!

Keep going, your new painting style looks good and fast at the same time!

[GimmeYerGold]

I love the name of this thread! Especially like the way you chronicle your past and present progress.

Keep up the good work, Rook!

[Rook]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement thus far!

Are you going to strip the old elf, or just leave him as a memento?

I'm gonna keep him, broken sword and all! I find that stuff incredibly nostalgic, reminding me of heady days spent dungeon delving with friends. That Elf has seen a lot of action and hopefully his new counterpart will have such a glorious saga one day (Hopefully with sword intact...)

Tonight's work was to finish off the Elf and begin work on the wizard. Taking pictures by hand with my phone is apparently a really horrible idea, as all the colours look washed out and most of the blends disappear, so I'll likely have to look into a tripod and some actual lighting at some point. Plus the flash probably isn't helping any.

Ah well, baby steps!

[StratosVX]

Taking pictures by hand with my phone is apparently a really horrible idea, as all the colours look washed out and most of the blends disappear, so I'll likely have to look into a tripod and some actual lighting at some point. Plus the flash probably isn't helping any.

And yet it still looks great!

[Rook]

Spent a while stripping models...

... not exactly the kind that is normally noteworthy, but here we are. Still have several miniatures from the second core set I scored needing to be rescued from their prisons of strange paint jobs (There was a pink mummy...). A lot of shoveling snow and chipping ice today, so not as much painting. However, I did manage to get my work a touch more organized and the painting plan is done up.

Personally I always like having a very solid plan of action; by breaking it down into steps I find it much easier to map out my success and 'feel' like I am getting a lot of work done. The second image shows the rough outline of the miniatures from the core set and the basic plan I have: Clean -> Base (The chipping effect) -> Prime -> Paint. The painting stages are broken down per model, since having a 'paint skin basecoat' doesn't hold a whole lot of meaning for the skeletons. This level of detail allows me to ensure I maximize my hobby time, since I'll always have something to work on while I'm waiting for shades or primer to dry (Or in the case of tonight, wait for my muscles to stop aching.)

Next up is the Wizard!

[GimmeYerGold]

Spent a while stripping models...

What do you use to strip paint? Is that Simple Green?

[Rook]

Yep, just Simple Green. There is stronger stuff available, which I may need for some of these models, but for the most part I get decent results without having something too strong kicking around the house.

Scrub them down and then prime again. Good as new