A perfect 10...

Good Monday, everybody!

...a perfect 10. 

Now this is a miniature related blog, so I guess there are two things that one could expect with this title. 

10

Most of you - especially the younger generation - would probably expect a perfectly painted miniature. One that is undisputedly a 10. Great skill, superb base, awesome color choice and no flaws whatsoever. Something we'd all agree on: It's a 10!

Some of you, especially if you are from my generation, secretly hope that I am talking about Bo Derek's 1979 movie "10". I don't recall when this movie was released in Germany, but at some point in the 80s we were 'interested enough' in this genre, that bad VHS copies of that 'comedy romance' with Bo in a bathing suit would be shared among friends that belonged to that kind of 'circle of trust'. How times have changed. 

Sadly, today's blog is not about either of that. Awww. 

Its about a guy called Murphy, who made a LAW that specifically targets miniature painters, who he hates.

Frakk you, Murphy!

Most of you remember the server crash that left our internet server down for almost a full month in January and early February.

Last Friday, something almost devastating happend.

Concerned about the security of our project and media files, we build a RAID 10 system with 8TB. For those of you that don't know what RAID 10 is: Basically you have redundant hard drives (at least 4) that - if one fails, you still can recover. 

In theory, no harm should have come our way. 

Except for the RAID controller going bananas and corrupting ALL data on ALL disks to the point that all disk drives were unsalvagable. 100% data loss, total desaster, end of show, go directly to jail kind of stuff. 

EXCEPT.

7 hours of trying to recover the RAID disks...
to no avail...

We do daily backups - and the last one was an hour before everything went south :) TAKE THAT MURPHY!

Still it took about 2 days to rebuild the machine.

So, how does this relate to miniature painting? Well, its a warning about Murphy. He strikes when you least expect it.

It reminds me of a story a painter friend of mine (she shall remain nameless) who had just finished a marvellous 70mm Knight of the Crusade on horse. With banner, Heraldry and detailed freehands. Her best work up to that point, hundreds of hours worth...

She wanted to protect her masterpiece with a thin layer of matte varnish. 

The room was dimly lit. She was tired. 

She grabbed the 'Chaos Black' basecoat spray... 

Yes, the image in your head is exactly what happened next...

On a much brighter note

The first prizes have been sent out to the winners of our REVOLUTIONARY 42 giveaway contest. There are still quite a few people who have not claimed their prizes! So make sure you check whether you have won or not.

The rest of the prizes will be sent out either this weekend or next monday.

I hope you all enjoy what the 'Easter Bunny' brings you right in time for the Easter vacation :) Happy painting/playing/reading/listening - depending on what you have won ;) 

Paintingbuddha.com DVD Set update

As we told you, our little project was not ready for shipping on March 1st. We are not very far off target, but we want to make sure that the final shipping date we tell you really IS the shipping date. 

And we are afraid of Murphy.

But we expect that FRIDAY THIS WEEK we 

a) will tell you what the final content of the DVD Set will be (its going to be awesome, we think),
b) will be able to show you some sneak peaks and finally
c) tell you when we will start shipping :)

To all of our supporters - thank you for your patience. We believe the wait will be worth it :)
And we can't wait ourselves... ^^

Jérémie Bonamant Teboule Workshop in Berlin!

Greetings, my most excellent students of the fine arts!

He is back.

Jérémie just sent me a mail, informing me about his upcoming Workshop in Berlin. 

The workshop will be held at the infamous "Battlefield Berlin" store - and of course I am going to be there ;) 

Jérémie held the first 'professional' workshop for miniature painting in Germany in 2006 - and it  was the first of many workshops to come that I attended. 

The workshop will take place between July 5th and 7th. You will be able to book the workshop on Battle- fields website - right now there is no registration, so you might have to wait a day or two - or just give those guys a call. 

The workshop will cost 100€ and includes a Figone miniature. 

Seats will be limited, so Jack be nimble, Jack be quick! 

I strongly advise bringing loads of cash - because a true nerd will not leave this most buddhalicious store without at least four plastic bags full of nerdy goodness ;) 

I will post more information as soon as it becomes available. 

Zappi

Happy Birthday, DNA!

Happy Birthday, Douglas Noel Adams (DNA)!

Douglas Noel Adams (wikipedia)

Today would have been Douglas Adams' 61st birthday. Born on March 11th 1952 he unfortunately passed away way too soon - at age 49 - on May 11th, 2001 in Santa Barbara, California.

Ever since, his life is celebrated by nerds and fans like myself on May 25th - with the annual 'Towel Day', as a tribute to his life. 

Of course, he is most famous for his 'trilogy' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', his Dirk Gently series,  "The long dark tea-time of the soul" or his involvement with the Doctor Who series or with Monty Python.

What many do not know is that he was also a great conversationalist, speaker and environmentalist on behalf of endangered species. The lemurs of Madagascar, mountain gorillas, black rhinos or Yangtze River Dolphins (which he 'hunted' with a condom covered make-shift underwater microphone) are just a few to mention. His friend, Biologist Richard Dawkins, said that "Science has lost a friend, literature has lost a luminary, the mountan gorilla and the black rhino have lost a gallant defender" upon Adams' passing. 

Douglas Adams is probably the biggest influence in my life. Throughout my life - from teenager to 'professional' business monkey, wearing analog watches, I felt a deep connection with the way Douglas' mind works. paintingbuddha.com and masterminis.net are 'brands' of my company (which most don't know is called Manabu (japanese for 'learning'). Not only did I dedicate my company to Douglas Adams, but the company's interior workings, its goals could pretty well be straight out of the HHGTTG universe. 

Since I can remember - and well before the time of HTML 0.x, when the internet was still white text on black (or amber or green for those of you who can remember) - I am known on the internet as 'Zaphod Beeblebrox', with email address and all. This probably constitutes the fact that I am slightly more crazy than the average crazy person. 

It is actually quite earie to see how many similarities and intersections seem to connect my life to his. For once, of course, we both liked tea. I just recently found that his favorite song was the same as mine: "Wish you were here" from Pink Floyd. On Douglas' 42nd birthday, no other than Pink Floyd invited him to perform with them at a concert at Earls Court in London where he played the lead guitar for "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse". He also picked the name for the album "The Division Bell" - the collectors edition of which I 'coincidentally' gave away during our crazy 42 giveaways. 

It is no coincidence (as I - among other things - don't believe in coincidences) that I re-started my life and started our 'nerdy miniature company' at the age of 42. This was something I had planned since I was 28. A dream 14 years in the making (which coincidentally is 1/3 of 42).

Can you see the answer?

For many years I have jokingly contemplated what the Question to the Ultimate Answer about Life, the Universe and EVERYTHING could possibly be. Well, we all knew The Answer is 42. 

It seems, that I just accidentally happened to stumble upon The Question, baby!

This was as surprising to me as to someone who finds himself floating in mid air as he forgets to hit the ground while falling. Belgium, man!

Thank you Douglas - For Life, the Universe and Everything! 

Wish you were here.

Zappi

P.S.:
I just realized, this is my 242nd post on the blog. Thank you Douglas for NO COINCIDENCES! :) 

Laughing = Awake = Motivation

Morning! 

I have done something that I have not done in like 20 years. 

Yesterday, after a combined 4 hours of sleep in two days I went to bed BEFORE 10pm... This is an outrage!

And as I got up this morning, I did not feel particularly awake nor motivated to do anything but hop straight back into bed. 

And then a friend added me on FB and posted this. 

It made me laugh. That woke me up. And now I am motivated :D

Have a great day everybody - wherever you are, whatever you do!

I sent this message to my dislexic friend - he didn't get it: A dislexic guy walks into a bra. :D

Now, everyone, leave a joke in the comments. Just for shits and giggles ^^

Painting Competitions

Good morning, my spring-inspired, defrosting friends!

The winter comes to an end - I declared the season open by celebrating my first 'topless' cruise in my convertible :D Just a quick trip to a local hobby store, but hey - I soaked in all the sunlight I could get ;) 

During the winter time many of us have painted miniatures. They are all finished, you are more-or-less happy about it... Now what? 

Why not enter them in one of the many ongoing online miniature painting competitions? 

I will start the list with two that I can remember from the top of my old head. Early in the morning. With only 2 hours of sleep. Oh - and no coffee yet :D

If you know about more online comps, let me know in the comments - I will add them to the list! 

1. Golden Vinci 2013

Win some awesome trophies with this awesome online contest.
Due date: April 14th
(english rules, german rules)

2. Smart Max's Winter Painting Contest

Win Smart Max minis of your choice!
Due date: March 20th
(FB Event / Rules)

3. WAMP's Wyrd Painting Contest

Deadline: March 24th
(Wamp forum thread)


4. Studio McVey painting competition
Due Date: April 23rd (April 30th for Wamp supporters)
(Wamp thread)

And remember, if you want want to win something just by clicking your mouse, subscribe to this blog (50+ giveaways in the last, uhm.... 8 months? woops!) OR hop over to Wamp's PORTAL Facebook Page, Like them and win a free Army Painter set! We got them 24 new likes. This clearly is a mistake and was meant to be 42 likes! So head over there! 

And if you don't know which real-life event you want to attend with all the Games Days cancelled - or if you prefer CASH prizes over trophies - STAY TUNED. 

Spring Angel 2013 - Moscow. June. AWESOMENESS. 
Read all about it on masterminis.net - soon(tm).

Oh. And yes - we will be going - and reporting from this event, too!

Subscribe to this blog or our Facebook Page and you won't miss this event ;)

ReWAMPed - Portal 30 available

Greetings, my most excellent enthusiasts! 

Brett Johnson, founder of WAMP and the freely downloadable online magazine 'Portal' has just informed me about the successful relaunch of the Portal magazine. The fully loaded Issue #30 is available! And of course, all previous issues are available for download as well. Did I mention FREE? :D

Issue 30 comes with tons of hoopy articles: 


- Guide To Contrast Tutorial
- Kabuki,Reaper and Studio 38 Reviews
- The Wamp Awards 2012 Results
- Army Painter give-away
- Studio McVey Contest Details
- Red Box Games winners
- News,new releases,and gallery
- Mini Radar and Socialise
- Romance inspired minis
- Random Musings
- Interview with Alex Huntley (Warploque)

But the good news does not stop here. If you hop over to the Portal FB Page, you can enter to win an Army Painter MEGA PAINT SET. Colors, Brushes, shiny box... They got it all! 

Right now the portal FB page has 420 likes. 420! That's like 10x42! This is NO coincidence! Who do you think was 'liker' number 420? You guessed it right ;) BAZINGA! Presman style.

So, hop over there, like, Share & Enjoy! 

Portal will be released on a monthly basis and issue #31 will be available on April 16th. 

Oh, and while you are feeling all happy about liking and sharing stuff... Why not hop over to our own FB Page and like it too! Makes you all warm and fuzzy and tingly inside :D

Zappi

Nerdcamp 1337 - AMV modelling

Good morning my most excellent painters!

What a week! For the last 8 days I had between 1 and 6 people at my place with some serious hard-core nerdcamping going on. It was a lot of fun, but for a man of biblical age and beard like myself very exhausting :D

No flu, no cold, no late pizza delivery could stop us! Well, I myself have not painted anything as I was busy working on our final touch-ups on the Paintingbuddha Season 1 DVD. And it was well worth it. 

Like the incredible Hulk, my friend Martin "Farbfanatiker" turned into the incredible brush-berserker. Wielding every how-to-paint-AFVs book and video ever created (they are all part of my extensive library), he manged to not only paint one, but two tanks in the course of this week. 

You can read all about it on his blog if you click here.

Martin and I have decided that 2013 will be the year we turn into vehicle-painting-pros. I always loved the realism found on historic tanks and already dabbled in applying some of these techniques in the past. Over the years I have collected dozens of magazines, books and DVDs. As always, I almost nearly painted one complete tank :D

Among the best books out there are Mig Jimenez' F.A.Q. books. The first edition is very hard to come by as it was sold out very quickly. The second edition is still available in stores. 

The main difference is that the first F.A.Q. is not specific to any particular brand when it comes to paints and such, F.A.Q. 2 is basically an advertizing book for AK International products. 

Now there is nothing wrong with this, as all of the AK products are explicitely tailored to make vehicle painting and weathering as easy as humanly possible. Whether you need to buy a bottle of 'AK filter' or mix it yourself with oil and thinner is up to you, of course. They do have some nifty little helpers - and Martin has ordered some of them for his next projects. Subscribe to his blog to read more about it ;) *hint hint*

Are you interested in painting models and weathering at all? Would you be interested in a comprehensive review of some / all of the materials I own? 

If so, leave a comment below ;) 

And here Martin's video of the two tanks he finished last week. All kinds of techniques were tested here, both are with acrylics and oils. Video shot by yours truly ;)