Rodent On The Road

As Mikko told you in his previous entry, our joint project Rogan Rygaard got an invitation to CMON Annual 2010. We needed to send CMON staff some hi-quality photos taken from the dwarf but unfortunately the photos taken previousky for the CMON were, well, not that good quality.

After couple of phone calls we decided to take new photos from Rogan and send them to CMON. But there was a slight problem. Rogan is in Helsinki and me and my SLR are located in Seinäjoki, Southern Ostrobothnia, about 350 kilometers away. So we basically had only couple of options to go with; Mikko could send Rogan via post to me or I could go to Helsinki and we could take the photos at Mikko's place.

Sending such a precious piece via mail didn't really tempt either of us, so guess what, it was time for me to do some road tripping...

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So it was last Friday that I ended up at the door of Mikko's flat in Helsinki with my camera and printed muslin background papers. After cathing up with Mikko we started to discuss about our current projects and what we had been working on with lately. In some point I ended up asking about Mikko's loyalist Space Marine army and how it had been going on. With a grin in his face Mikko came out from his hobby lair and showed me the latest project he had been working with...

Mikko's Imperial Guard, Steel Legion guardsmen...

And here's another group of five guardsmen, WIP.

With a silly look on my face I asked: "What the heck are these??". Mikko answered with an amusing tone in his voice "Well, you know those Space Marines that I told you that I was supposed to be working on with? Well, this is that project"...

Yeah, he got me and this time for good. I was in a belief that Mikko was working on some loyalist Space Marines to counter my Emperor's Children, but he had been pulling me all the way. He even told me some time ago that he had bought the Imperial Guards Codex "just for the amazing artwork and inspiration". Didn't ring any bells by then but now everything is coming in together. That cunning little rat!

To tell you the truth, I was positively surprised with this relevation. Mikko explained that the colour scheme took a major inspiration from the World War I German uniforms. These grunts will become a nice counterforce for my Emperor's Children project, that's for sure!

By the way, Mikko should write some sort of tutorial how he has been working on with these guys, as it looks like he is going to catch me up with a pretty fast pace. Airbrush and carefully thought painting strategy can save you a good while, that's for sure...

Personally I'm really looking forward to see the first squad of these ready!!!

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Back to the main reason for my little trip to the South. Our new shots from Rogan did came out pretty well, now that I knew a little bit better how to handle my camera (mostly with the depth of view and colour tone).

Rogan Rygaard, Chaos Dwarf of Tzeentch.

I never get tired off watching this thing. It's still one of my best paintjob, yet I know there are many things that I could have done better. Well, maybe our next project (Gaga, grhm) will show some progress in that field.

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With our shooting spot up and coffee on the kettle warming up, I decided to check what Mikko's showcase kept inside. I couldn't resist to take couple of photos from one of Mikko's older figures, one of the most eye-cathing beast being Ork Deff Dread with couple of nice mods and ideas.

I really love this can! Those machine guns with their drum clips, rusty and well worn metals and all the wirings make this one of a kind masterpiece.

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The day was turning to evening. You know the saying "time runs when you've a good time". It was time to pack my things and start my trip back to the North. Even though the meeting was brief and the trip was a bit exhausting, it was well worth it! We see each other too seldom, so it was refreshing to chat face to face with my dear hobby brother. Sometimes this hobby just feels like if we're just toiling all by ourselves with too little reward, like Mikko would say. Times like these give you the energy you need to continue your everlasting crafting.

Last but not least, here's a little sneak peak from our next joint project, "The Thing"...

Hmm, what might that be?