Tabletop Geeks

It’s about time for another interview. This time we’ve got UnderBheit. UnderBheit received the third place Bronze Tom award as well as several honorable mentions in the Golden Tom 2008 competition. More recently he has been painting and playing something that’s had my interest, Malifaux.

Where are you from?
California

What is your occupation?
Physics Instructor

How long have you been interested in the tabletop hobby and how did you get into it?
Some friends got me into 40k when I was in high school. I played Dark Angels at the time. Inevitably, my high school friends and hobbies went by the wayside during my college years. My models stayed on the shelf for many years, I even sold my painted army on ebay. A few years ago I was in Oakland having lunch with my wife and her sister and I happened upon an amazing gaming store called Endgame. They had gaming tables above the store in a mezzanine area, and Golden Demon painters on staff. It is an awesome store and I give it sole credit for reigniting my interest in gaming.

Shortly after finding this store I decided to play an entire army of Kroot Mercenaries. I started slow but eventually I had painted 150 Kroot Mercenaries in a matter of months. Each model was converted and had multiple layers of paint per color. They were a really fun army to play, but the 5th edition rules made it difficult to play them competitively. At any rate, my interest in 40k waned yet again, but this time there was a timely alternative.

A friend had just started a Mordhiem gaming group and I took to it immediately. Unfortunately that group has disbanded and now we all play Malifaux. I like it too, but I still prefer the mechanics of Mordheim.

What games do you play? What armies do you play in those games?
Warhammer 40k – Kroot Mercenaries
Mordheim – Undead, Possessed, Skaven
Malifaux – Gremlins

Do you have any rituals while modeling/painting such as listening to specific music?
I do my best work in the late hours of the night. I don’t know why and I wish I could change it, but I have my best ideas from 12-4 AM. I suppose there are just less interruptions during those hours.

As for entertaining media, it really depends on the project. I tend to watch/listen to things that are themed to my project. When I made my Skaven warband I listened to the Decemberists. When I made my undead I listened to “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde“, on CD. For the possessed I listened to NIN, Pink Floyd etc. So it really does depend on the subject matter.

What are some of your influences or where do you draw your inspiration from? Are there any books, movies, art, or other sources that have had an impact on your work? Whose work has had an impact on you and your projects?
I’m always inspired by the ‘Eavy Metal work in White Dwarf, cmon (cool mini or not) and various other forums (Tom’s Boring Mordheim Forum). In general, I get excited when I see impressive work and I play off of that by trying to create something equally impressive.

What is your favorite piece that you’ve done or what are you most proud of? What do you like about it?
The pieces that I’m most proud of are also my favorites, my Dregs. I prefer simplicity and I feel the Dregs capture the desperation of Mordheim in a minimalist way.

What is your favorite piece that someone else has done? What do you like about it?
It’s hard to pick a favorite. I tend to appreciate work that captures the theme of the subject. There are many great examples of this in the miniatures gallery of Tom’s Forum.

Your Magister received the Bronze in the 2008 Golden Tom and you also received several honorable mentions. Did you use any special or interesting techniques that you can share with us?
The Magister was a favor for Matt, a Moderator on Tom’s. I liked it so much that I decided to enter it in the competition. I don’t really have any special techniques, just predictable ones. I use ghoul bits in everything I do, not as a rule, they just work really well for Mordheim evilness. I also use a wet palette to keep my paint, well…wet. People seem to like my rusty swords, so I’ll just tell you how I did that:
1. base coat black
2. dry brush silver
3. wash black
4. dab various browns as rust
5. paint the edge black
6. paint silver chips along the black edge.

What is your favorite part of the hobby? Do you prefer working with terrain or miniatures?
My favorite part is the modeling. A piece really comes to life for me during the posing and greenstuff stages. As for my preference of subject, I am trying to get into terrain, but prefer the models.

What technique has given you the most trouble? Do you have any tips for someone else who might be struggling with it?
When I first started using greenstuff, I didn’t use water. My work had finger prints all over them. I later realized that I had to keep the material wet. However, the best results have come from using petroleum jelly and color shapers. Color shapers are like paint brushes with a shaped rubber tip. In combination with jelly, they really shape the putty smoothly.

Are there any areas that you’d like to improve on?
I’m always trying to improve my painting skills. I have a tough time with non metallic metals NMM.

What projects are you working on currently? What would be your dream project?
I am currently converting a Malifaux Gremlin crew. My dream projects all involve terrain. Those are the things I’d love to do but lack the materials and experience. I always wanted to make a Mordheim bar and pit fighter ring. Now, I want to build a bog terrain piece for Malifaux.

What tips, tricks, or advice can you share with us? Are there any special brands or materials that you use that other people might not know about?
I don’t have any tricks. I just know that patience pays off. Any time I rush a project it gets messed up. I can say that I can’t stand GW paints. I prefer Vallejo or Reaper paints. Their bottles are better for distributing paint and keeping it fresh. I recommend a wet palette for working with the same colors for multiple models. it will keep the color workable for days.

What other hobbies do you have outside of tabletop gaming?
I love stream fishing. Trout are delicious!

Anything else about yourself that you care to share? Do you have a website that people can check out if they are interested in knowing more about you or seeing more of your work?
My work is all over the place. I used to Administrate a site called Kompletely Kroot. A lot of my work is still up on that forum. Other than that I post my work on multiple blogs. Here are a couple:
Undead Warband
Kroot Mercenaries

I want to thank UnderBheit not only for the interview, but also for his great technique for painting rust! I hope you enjoyed this week’s interview as much as I did. I’m looking into Malifaux now myself so you might see a bunch more of it on here in the future.

I do have a couple more interviews lined up currently so keep an eye out for them!

Tags: interview, Malifaux, Miniatures, painted

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 27th, 2009 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.