Messages

1

2016 Painting Contest / Re: Aussieminis Pacific Islands Set

« on: May 05, 2016, 08:01:28 pm »

Cheers thanks guys for the comments.

Karuns Aussieminis Islands Set was sent on Monday the 2nd of May, and much care was taken to ensure that the set arrives to him safely, of course its always our greatest fear as wargamers that we end up with "That Nightmare Postal Service Guy" like Jim Carey in Ace Ventura Pet Detective, that kicks and destroys the packages that contain our precious miniatures and scenery. We can only pray that we get our packages treated with respect.

I was happy with all the pictures, except the last one with the miniatures on my tabletop it made it look like the base of the feature island is warped, I can assure everyone that the bases are clamped during several phases of the build to minimise warping of the MDF during the building process. So its my rather overused Axis & Allies - War at Sea tabletop that is....well, not flat, and not the scenery bases.

Lastly, I have been boggling over what I could possibly to combat the fact that we have many different types of scenery used by the many different games that are played from Historical Naval Wargames to things like Dystopian Wars and I thought I might try to build something for both so that no matter who the competition winner is I will have something to offer that will be useful for any of the many games. If anyone has ideas or links to offer that may assist me for next years competition, please do not hesitate to enter them here or PM me here at any time.

Cheers guys, thank you very much.

Dan

2

2016 Painting Contest / Aussieminis Pacific Islands Set

« on: April 30, 2016, 10:12:16 pm »

Aussieminis - 7 Pacific Islands Set - Full Set


Aussieminis - 7 Pacific Islands Set - Scale


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Feature Piece 300mm x 200mm


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Medium Piece 240mm x 120mm


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Medium Piece 250mm x 130mm


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Small Piece - 140mm x 140mm


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Small Piece - 130mm x 100mm


Aussieminis - Pacific Islands Set 2 x Small Pieces -  120mm x 50mm & 90mm x 80mm


Pacific Islands Set - Mongoose Publishing's (Victory at Sea) HMS Hood Pictured along with a modified HMS Sheffield by Wizards of the Coast (Axis & Allies - War at Sea, both at 1:1800th scale.

Cheers guys

Dan

3

2016 Painting Contest / Re: 2016 Winners

« on: April 29, 2016, 08:38:56 pm »

Hi Karun and all,

Guys I apologise for the delay in getting the pictures up, in truth I only finished the project last night after work, I plan on getting some pictures up as soon as the weather clears enough for me to get some decent images, and that will be tomorrow, Karuns Islands Set will then be packaged and shipped off to France the following day Monday being the earliest I can do this.

I'm glad you will get at least some use out of the Islands Karun, obviously as stipulated above the Island Set is more suitable for smaller scale historical Naval Miniature Wargames, the clump foliage on the Model Islands are designed and placed on as if you are looking down onto the Island from aircraft height, in other words they are representative of forests and small tree clusters not brush or bush as they will be when using Dystopian Wars miniatures, however, I had accounted for this to some degree. Who knows maybe Karun has some mates that also play Historical Naval Wargames or maybe even start to collect Historical, either way I hope he will like the time and effort that has gone into this set.

Once again sorry for the delay chaps, and congratulations once again to Karun.

Dan

4

2016 Painting Contest / Re: 2016 Winners

« on: April 27, 2016, 07:00:53 am »

Sincere congratulations to this years winners, indeed congratulations to the winners of each category a virtual showcase of some of the best artists in the business and I'm so glad I did not have to judge this "To close to call" would probably be the understatement of the century. Well done everyone who submitted an entry.

It is my great pleasure to present to the winner with a 7 piece Pacific Islands Set worth $170.00US courtesy of my modest hobby business, , includes 1 x Pacific Islands Feature Piece (8-10 sector 300mm x 200mm), 2 x Pacific Islands Medium Pieces (3-4 sector 250mm x 130mm & 240mm x 120mm), 1 x Pacific Islands Small Piece (2 sector 140mm x 140mm), 1 x Pacific Islands Small Piece (2 sector 130mm x 100mm), 2 x Pacific Islands Small Pieces (1-2 sector 120mm x 50mm) & (1-2 sector 90mm x 80mm). The set is suitable for most historical tabletop miniature wargames, scale is most suitable to:

1:1800th Axis & Allies - War at Sea Miniatures
1:1800th Mongoose Publishing's Victory at Sea Miniatures
Panzerschiffe 1:2400th (all periods)
GHQ Micronauts 1:2400th (all periods)
Neptun/Navis Miniatures 1:1250th (all periods)
Sails of Glory 1:1000th
as well as other manufacturers


Aussieminis Naval War Game Scenery - 7 Pacific Islands Set

Cheers guys

Dan


 

5

2016 Painting Contest / Re: 2016 Winners

« on: April 19, 2016, 07:46:10 pm »

Indeed Congratulations to this years winners, its strange from an observers point of view, you kind of tip the winners or who the winners should be I should say and its always great to have tipped the winners for all the categories.

Congratulations to Nicolas as the overall winner with his Directorate entry, some amazing painting in anyones language also to Captain Dan, a special acknowledgement however goes out to Shinnentai as an artist I have admired for many years I was glad that he finally took out his category this year. He is quite possibly the best Historical Naval Miniature Artist I have ever seen who turns out this calibre of high quality work time and time again. So my sincere congratulations to him. Finally my congratulations to Last Rites also for winning his category, an exemplary artist with exceptional skills one only need check out his gallery here at MBS to understand what I am talking about.

Lastly a very big thank you to all contestants in this years competition, I think Ruckster would agree with me when I say that there are never any losers in a competition such as this, just a brilliant showcase of amazing work by amazing artists. Each of you has achieved a whole new standard by entering the arena of competition and putting forward your absolute best, nothing makes us reach for that little bit extra than competition, I didn't see a single entry that did not deserve to be there, fantastic work guys. A very big thank you also to the judges for dedicating their time on what must have been a very hard competition to judge, and finally thank you to Ruckster for dedicating so much of his time, effort and expense to maintaining quite possibly the best online naval painting contest in the world. Congratulations mate on yet another successful year for MBS.

The winner will have their prize of an Aussieminis 7 Pacific Island Scenery Package sent out first thing on Monday the 25th of April (hehehe ANZAC Day here in Australia), as soon as I receive shipping details for the recipient.

Cheers guys

Dan

6

2016 Painting Contest / Re: 2016 Painting Contest Discussion

« on: April 11, 2016, 08:46:52 pm »

Gosh guys wow!!!

What a fabulous body of work by all contestants, I have been looking at all the entries this morning, and cant believe my eyes. I admit to a certain amount of bias toward the historical entries but goodness some of these sci-fi and steam-punk entries are simply stunning and gorgeous miniatures in anyones language. Guys I regret not having the time to dedicate to submitting an entry to this years contest, instead dedicating what minimal time I have had available to making sure that you get the Islands set as promised for the competition winner.

I will not let the cat out of the bag just yet, but I can assure you guys that this set is one of the best I have ever made using all the best terrain making skills I have learned and practiced over many years, and I can assure you that you will receive nothing but my very best work that I hope you will use and enjoy for many years to come on your respective table-tops.

The set is nearing completion and should be ready for shipping on Monday the 18th of April after I receive word of the competition winner and receive shipping details, depending on location of course, the set should take between 5-7 working days to reach you. I can also assure contestants that the greatest possible care is taken to ensure that your islands reach you in perfect condition ready for play. Being a gamer myself I know how to treat miniatures and terrain with the utmost respect and care.

If anyone has any questions or queries in relation to this prize please do not hesitate to contact me here via PM or email me direct: dan.byron@internode.on.net

Good luck guys!!!

Dan

7

2015 Painting Contest / Re: And the Winners Are...

« on: May 02, 2015, 09:24:16 pm »

Please allow me to join in the cry of congratulations to this years Man Battlestations Painting Contest winners. I must say that I am in no way surprised by the final results, each one of these is a fabulous entry and the votes invariably reflect that. Hetairoi is obviously an artist of considerable experience and considerable talent, I must say my jaw hit the bench when I saw this entry, indeed all of the Sci-fi miniatures painted at this forum are incredibly well detailed and the artists here do a fabulous job with them. So my heart felt congratulations to Hetairoi, well deserved winner.

To Greg, brother I truly tell you that I have never been more proud, you have fast risen to a point in your painting journey whereas you can turn out exceptional quality WW2 Naval Miniatures repeatedly at 1:1800th scale which is by no means easy. Already you have a style that is completely your own and that I can clearly see you are comfortable with. Keep going man, this is only the beginning. Congratulations my friend you deserve this.

Last Rites mate you have shown up to all of these comps with some amazing work, you are an incredible artist and I really enjoy looking at your work, and even though I don't play the game I know a good paint job when I see one. In truth you probably should have stolen the show on a few occasions already, its really not if for you mate, its just a question of when. Congratulations Last Rites what fabulous looking gaming pieces.

Finally to our first Admiral's Choice Award recipient Andrewchristlieb, wow mate, this was a beautiful model by anyones standards, I really loved the colour palette used on this miniature, you have a great eye and a steady hand and this comes out on your work. You should not feel in any way embarrassed to have won this prize, well deserved I would say. Congratulations!

Thanks to Ruckdog and the sponsors of the Man Battlestations Painting Contest, I hope this contest continues to grow in popularity and involvement in the years to come. It is things such as this that keep people interested in their respective games and their passion for painting alive.

Well done to everyone who participated and took the time to enter something special....you are all winners in my eyes.

Dan  

8

2015 Painting Contest / Re: Round 2: Final Round!

« on: April 15, 2015, 06:45:02 pm »

I have two tutorials on WWII Naval Miniature Painting at Axis & Allies Forumini, one is a quick guide while the other is more comprehensive. The latter is still a work in progress but still a useful guide for the beginner.

Most will find our techniques are very similar especially those with a GW background, of course styles vary from artist to artist, and we are all restricted in terms of our chosen discipline of war games miniatures. I was wondering Hetairoi about the scale of the Kingfisher, are these miniatures fairly small? I'm not familiar with the Sci-fi games, it's a gorgeous piece.

Hope to see more of your beautiful work in the future.

Dan

9

2015 Painting Contest / Re: Round 2: Final Round!

« on: April 12, 2015, 06:39:38 pm »

I'm sorry if I am not allowed to post here, but I would like to congratulate personally the MBS Painting Competition finalists for 2015. These are all very deserving entries done by arguably some of the best in the business, I am very glad to see a few new artists emerge and show their skills in this fabulous online painting contest.

I have said so many times before that there is no better way to bring out ones very best than in the arena of competition, I know personally that if it was not for the MBS Painting Contests there is no way I would have painted the very best USS Montana, HMS Renown & HMS Vanguard I was capable of.

Lastly I would like to mention that there are no losers in a competition such as this, at the very least we all have some fabulous pieces for our chosen tabletop wargames, and you have all entered some amazing work this year, I would like to thank each and every artist that entered this year and hope we can all meet up again next year and enter the MBS Painting Contest in 2016. These contests are great for the forums, great for the players and great for our respective games, thank you very much to Ruckdog and all the sponsors of the MBS Painting Contest.

Congratulations once again to our finalists.

Dan

10

2015 Painting Contest / Re: Painting Contest 2015 Submissions Thread

« on: April 01, 2015, 07:42:38 pm »

Hi guys, here is my entry for the MBS Painting Contest 2015:



Preparation - The Vanguard received some light sanding before a spray primer of Tamiya TS-4 German Grey, a clear coat was then added, this process was repeated a second time to gain some smoothness on the surface of this Shapeways miniature. Also further port holes were drilled into the upper superstructure using a pin vice to add some detail, these were done following carefully pictures and plans from HMS Vanguard scale models.

Painting - Vanguard was painted using a Nuln Oil (Citadel) wash, before receiving a two-tone dry-brush with Dawnstone and Administratum Grey (Citadel). A hi-light of a lightened Administratum Grey/White Scar (Citadel) approx 70/30 ratio. A secondary wash of a slightly lightened Nuln Oil was then added overall, before a final hi-light of the Administratum Grey/White Scar mixture. The deck was treated with a Red Leather #70818 (Vallejo) base coat, and Woodgrain Transperant #70828 (Vallejo) wash, before a two-tone wet-brush blend of Bleached Bone/Sunburst Yellow (Citadel)/Water mixture approx 85/5/10 ratio. These pre-mixed colours one with about 10% White Scar (Citadel) constitute the two tones used on the deck using a gradual build up of shade. A further watered down wash of Woodgrain Transperant #70828 is then applied before a final wet-brush hi-light of the lightened deck mixture, other inks and washes used for detailing from Art Spectrum, Vallejo & Citadel.

Base - The base is made from 5mm Balsa, the water effect is created using modelling putty and Vallejo Water Effects, the whole base was then base coated in Imperial Blue #72.020 (Vallejo) before a clear coat being added. After fixing the miniature to the base, detailing, using a 3 tone blue to aqua to light blue effect. Lightened Imperial Blue (Vallejo), to Hawk Turquoise (Citadel) and darkened Ice Blue (Citadel) before the white water being dry-brushed and hi-lighted in Scar White.

Thank you for your consideration this year, and good luck to all entries.

Dan

11

2015 Painting Contest / Re: Painting Contest 2015 Submissions Thread

« on: March 20, 2015, 05:47:57 am »

I was hoping you would enter Ranger Greg she is a really nice piece. The Hipper is also really nice too by Eccles as is that Oriskany by Nightfall. It's on the way guys I promise, been working on her all day, looks like I won't be winning this year there are some nice entries so far and hopefully more to come.

Funny thing is guys, all these entries are also up for Model of the Month at Forumini too.

Good luck to all of you, I hope you win.

Dan

12

The Showcase / Re: Ruckdog's Finished Prussians

« on: February 18, 2015, 11:15:27 pm »

Simply Stunning!!!!

Really love the shading work in these mate, worked every inch of detail, really nicely done.

Dan

13

The Showcase / Re: Repbulique of France Mediterranian Fleet Sails.

« on: February 18, 2015, 11:13:14 pm »

Really lovely work!!!

Dan

14

The Showcase / Re: Dystopian Wars: R

« on: February 18, 2015, 11:11:24 pm »

The camouflage pattern on these ships is sublime. Just incredible artistry. I also really like the overall parity of the fleet.

Fantastic!!!!

Dan

15

The Showcase / Re: Danaussie's WWII Naval Shipyard

« on: February 16, 2015, 10:18:33 pm »

G'day Ruckster,

Thanks mate, competition has got a way of bringing out your very best, in this company I must say I have never felt more intimidated in my life, for these guys are not just artists but true specialists in their fields. I have been looking through some of the threads here in the Showcase section for the past few days and "sweaty palms" is a good way to describe my reaction to it. Good Heavens these guys are good, you guys have nothing but my humble admiration and deepest respect.

On this gallery I have made sure I have entered some of my oldest work as well as some of my more contemporary stuff, it was a great way to show the evolution of experimental techniques, that have slowly developed over the years. The Mongoose HMS Rodney is (perhaps) the best miniature I have ever painted, some 18 years after I first started painting it feels like I am finally getting close to the place I always wanted to get to in terms of detail and technique package. Perhaps that is also largely due to the outstanding level of detail on Mongoose Publishing's Victory at Sea Miniatures. Either way guys it has been an amazing journey of discovery and the people I have been honoured to meet and share that journey with has made it extremely educational and rewarding.

Thanks to forums such as this one I can sit here half a world away and still get to admire the work of other extremely talented artists and learn from them.

Thanks guys for your comments, the admiration and respect flows both ways, believe me.

And finally thanks Ruckdog for the opportunity to show some of my work.

Dan