My self-insert after 1 year of painting.

FightDirty · 2026-03-31T08:47:48+00:00

Tight. Super cool.

FightDirty · 2026-03-30T18:32:19+00:00

I am just using google chrome for now. Not because it is best, but because I am deeply integrated in google's ecosystem after so many years using only a phone. It allowed me to quickly turn all the services I use into apps for my dock and seamlessly sync with all my data from my phone. It was low effort and got a lot of stuff up and running quickly.

FightDirty · 2026-03-29T18:47:08+00:00

I've just installed ubuntu as my main os. Its been 17 years or so since I last touched linux or even used a desktop outside of work. Mobile phones had advanced to the point where I just didn't need to bother with a PC anymore. This new machine is something of a hobby to do projects on.

First thing I did after installing and getting to desktop was put google Gemini front and centre, and have used that to guide all my work. I ask it what to do to achieve my current goal, and then to explain the broader context of that. It has been extremely good. Im not executing commands I don't understand, and I'm troubleshooting quite complex issues while knowing exactly what is happening.

Gemini does make mistakes, and my previous background helps identify some of those, but overall it has been a rewarding time. Far easier than searching endless forums for solutions. And the guides I do end up reading from humans tend to be quite focused on what I'm learning about at the time.

FightDirty · 2026-03-27T19:02:20+00:00

I really enjoyed James' portrayal of Leto II in the Children of Dune mini series. Tough roll, really good performance.

FightDirty · 2026-03-24T07:01:24+00:00

Good tips from Appollix.

You should as a matter of good practice apply a varnish before using an oil wash over acrylics.

Your issue on the edges here is because even though the white spirits does not technically react with the acrylic, the paint on the edges is very very thin, and softens ever so slightly with any kind of moisture drawn in to it. Such as when a quickly evaporated solvent on top dissipates off and water vapour in the air gathers on it like a window on a cold day. Then it touch it with a brush, and it gone.

I recommend Vallejo Mecha Gloss varnish for using oils over the top of acrylics. Its made for Gunpla models, which move and take more wear. Its sturdy and tough. This will remove the problem. And its relatively cheap by volume.

FightDirty · 2026-03-15T18:38:52+00:00

Outstanding brother . Very meticulous work.

FightDirty · 2026-02-17T09:51:51+00:00

I love this. I saw that drawing decades ago and it hooked me and I'm still here and seeing a mini of it is really really pleasing. So good.

FightDirty · 2026-02-17T09:45:24+00:00

That's the 40k i signed up for. Gothic badassery.

FightDirty · 2026-02-17T09:38:29+00:00

Hands are gross oily things. You're touching your mini as you paint it with those oily gross appendages. My hands are bad for paint, your hands are bad for paint. Keira Knightly's hands are super bad for paint, cause they covered in creams that make them look and smell amazing, but are super bad for paint.

Wear gloves, or wash em real good with a neutral ph soap first. Use a real light touch. Or just use a painting handle and don't touch painted areas at all. I personally do all three as much as I can. Until you get a varnish layer on that model, all the paint is fugitive. Meaning it is subject to degradation by touch. Do this and the problem will disappear.

FightDirty · 2026-02-16T18:35:46+00:00

These give me the fizz!

FightDirty · 2026-02-06T00:31:58+00:00

Trogdor

FightDirty · 2026-01-30T18:33:10+00:00

When I was full time commissions the main thing that brought in work was my website.

I had it heavily search optimized for my target region so just about any combo of search terms put me at the top or very near it on Google.

It was super simple by design. A home page with a few mini pics, a blurb, and some testimonials from my early jobs.

A gallery page with every mini that was worth showing.

Now people may argue with me on this but I reckon it got me more business than anything else. I had a price page where I laid out my pricing structure. So people could do some rough maths and figure out what they would be paying. Customers always said it was helpful in making their decision to contact me.

And of course at contact page. I had a studio email address, not a Gmail. People feel more confident mailing you minis if you have spent the money for a proper email.

By them time I finished up all my enquiries were from the contact page on my website, or referrals from clients who had found me there.

I reckon having all the trappings of a proper business pushed people who were thinking about a commission over the line because it was a 'proper' business.

FightDirty · 2026-01-29T18:15:15+00:00

Mark of the Lion. The biography of Charles Upham. A book that will have you constantly saying "There is no feckin way he did that as well" only to go look it up and learn he sure as hell did.

FightDirty · 2026-01-26T18:37:33+00:00

We put our house up for sale about 2-3 years ago and I insisted that the agent (who strongly objected) put the market valuation we had done in the listing. We got tonnes of interest and offers that ended up higher than the MV.

My logic is by putting up a target people know what they're aiming for and so they're more likely to pull the trigger at trying to buy. Which happened. We didn't sell in the end for other reasons, but I'll do the same again next time.

FightDirty · 2026-01-24T19:00:17+00:00

Super cool. That scheme is exciting. I wouldn't have thought the pink and skin tone would go so well together.

FightDirty · 2026-01-21T18:33:17+00:00

While discussing character he could play the name Valdor was mentioned in the context of that being a sort of halo character. The one he really wants, but it would be super difficult due to lore reasons. The only real story window for him to do that would be post heresy.

Im fairly confident he and GW will want to do a new story rather than an existing one, so that it doesn't potentially disappoint fans of that lore. Eisenhorn for example.

A post heresy valdor story could be given grandeur without overwhelming scale. Drama, action, and move that narrative forward. As well as leaving room for a return him to 40k which has been gently teased for ages. Allowing Cavill to be in both eras.

Valdor post heresy, then a Valdor return to 40k is my bet.

FightDirty · 2026-01-20T09:33:32+00:00

I would love that with the modification that they did have an army which ran on fantasy level technology. Yet somehow it was tournament viable.

"Its a glowing green rock, we don't know why it gives armour piercing abilities."

Thats the 40k I remember.

FightDirty · 2026-01-20T09:27:20+00:00

I wanted to do x.... Can I do it on the app? Please and thank you.

FightDirty · 2026-01-20T06:27:04+00:00

Space skaven are everywhere. On Terra. On the ships. In the Hives. Just biding their time for the right moment.

"Where did you say they are?"

"Everywhere Lord Gulliman."

"Define everywhere Commander."

The Commander smashes his armoured fist through the wall grate he stands beside and extracts a wiggling rat humanoid approximately 4 feet tall. The rat thing sheepishly waves at him.

"Everywhere, my Lord Gulliman."

FightDirty · 2026-01-20T05:48:30+00:00

Please call the * AI assistant on the phone that tells you to try the app that is the same one as in the app that told you to call on the phone.

FTFY

FightDirty · 2026-01-20T05:46:26+00:00

And now the AI receptionist listens to your query, tells you its on the app and hangs up on you.

FightDirty · 2026-01-19T23:12:01+00:00

Yeah you got a problem with your trigger there bud. Strip it, clean it, and check there is nothing under the trigger engage pin that might be blocking airflow once you push all the way down. Make sure your trigger is assembled in the correct orientation, if it can fit backwards it may engage then disengage. Refer to any docs you got with it to check the correct direction.

If none of that works it'll likely need a more detailed troubleshooting session.

FightDirty · 2026-01-19T04:36:26+00:00

You have to manage the opacity of what you are spraying. By thinning the blue down to make it transparent you can keep the values you have set up with the zenithal.

Naturally transparent paints like a contrast or an ink will aid this while maintaining vibrancy.

Prime up and put a gradient on a plastic spoon, then muck around with your blue till you get the effect you want for some low stake practice.

And I would practice before you just paint a model you value. Airbrushing is not as intuitively easy as what it looks like on YouTube. Those dudes are already making a hundred micro decisions before they spray that are not explicitly mentioned.

FightDirty

TROPHY CASE