A Sunday Update

Before I start, I'd like to welcome Komorigumo to Inso's World. I hope that you find something you like and find the time to comment on anything you feel the need to.

This week has mostly been geared towards my new Grymn army.  Here is a brief glimpse as to what the final paint-scheme will be (minus the insignia):

Click the Pic!

There is much more information over at the GRYMN BLOG so if you need a Grymn fix, that is where you should head.

In other news, I have dug out my VASA Black Legionnaires and have started to 'grey up' the red suits...at the moment, there is little to show off but I have until the end of February to finish the squad so I have a little time yet.

With all the things I have on the go, I have made a short list of projects that I need to focus on:

1. Finishing off the Ambulance for my medic squad in the Tunnel Fighter army.

2. Varnishing the Tunnel Fighters so that I can put them into cases and make way for the next army.

3. Fix the vehicle license plates with decals.

4. The Void 1.1 pledge (one unit a month).

5. The new Grymn Urban Army.

6. Beetle-bot APC (counts-as a Necron Monolith).

Now I haven't put them in any order but these are the things I want to sort out...the decal side of things will have to wait until after Salute because that is where I am planning on getting a bunch of decals for numbers/letters and for insignia/unit markings...but I guess the varnishing side of things will be top of the list so that I can start clearing the decks.

Well, there you have it. A slight departure from the norm (what with firing up the old GRYMN BLOG again) but hopefully enough to whet the appetite.

See you from the turret!

Phew...the end of the week.

It has been a bit of a week but at least it is now over. I can relax and hopefully get some sleep over the weekend.

I have managed to write a bit more of the STORY so feel free to click the link and have a read...feel free to comment as it is still in the making.

I have finished the first Grymn for my Urban Mechanised Army; a test model that can be seen here: LINK Please feel free to share comments about it because it is the first one of an awful lot of troops and it would be nice to get it right (I won't be painting camouflage though).

Thoughts are on VASA pledges for next month and I have decided to go for my original idea and re-paint a unit of already prepare Black Legion troops with jump packs (some of the Black Legion models have wings). I am debating whether I should re-paint Commander X in my chosen urban scheme...or maybe pick up another one instead...Here she is at the moment:

Click the Pic!

Funnily enough, the red unit below her are the ones I will be re-painting...now there's a coincidence!

See you from the shed!

I'd forgotten how nice it is...

...to paint a single piece miniature.

I have finished painting the first Grymn in ages. What makes this one different is the distinct lack of converting or messing about. I cleaned it, glued it to a base, filled the gaps and painted it. Smashing!

I have also written a bit more STORY...which is nice.

Just thought I'd share.

See you from the top of a step-ladder!

The future is bright...

...the future is Grymn.

I have a Grymn on my painting table that has been cleaned, and stuck to a base ready to become the painting datum for my next army.  I have been thinking about colours today and have a scheme in my head so now all I have to do is put it on a miniature to set it in stone. Once the putty has dried, the journey will begin.

Speaking of journeys, the STORY continues. Remember to scroll down the linked topic to get to the latest instalment...the intrigue increases...

See you from The Obituary! (That's the name of the ship).

A quiet day at home.

After all the exertions of yesterday's sport and my complete inability to get any useful sleep lately, I took a day's leave and stayed at home today. That means that I have had a little bit of quiet time to sit and do pretty much nothing. That said, I can't just sit and do nothing so I have finished up a few bikes:

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

With these finished, I just need to varnish them and the platoon will be finished; that's 3 combinations, 9 bikes and a lieutenant on bike...job's a good 'un!

The next Void unit will be some Black Legionnaires...but not until February (they are my February Void pledge).

I will now start the process of cleaning Grymn and basing them, ready for some paint. They will be done a platoon at a time and that will include the vehicles that go with them...should be fun.

See you from the back of the front bit! 

Life, writing and sport...OUCH!

Just a quick post today. I have added another part of my ongoing STORY. Again, you'll have to scroll down to read the latest part. Things are hotting up as the trip continues...

I am in the process of basing the last of the bikes. Once the glue has dried, I'll be painting the bases and adding the camouflage to the tops of the bikes. Then it will be transfers and varnish. Not far to go but the PVA takes a long time to set the sand in place...

That, as they say, is that...

...but I did pass my fitness test today (easily) and afterwards I spent an hour playing indoor football (badly). I now have a poorly functioning left hand and feel like I have been run over by a truck...at 41, I think fitness must be something that other people do.

Football...a game where even a friendly kick-about has people telling you you are doing things wrong. I thought my awesome leg waving skills were great...not to mention my fantastic air kicks, awesome 'eyes shut' headers and flailing arm goal keeping skills! I scored goals too!  I bet the opposition were crying into their boots over that!

Good fun that I will pay for later.

See you from the minor injuries unit!

Slowly...steadily...

Well, it's a Sunday and an update is due...so here it is:

There is no update!

...not really but damn close to it. I have been slowly getting the layers painted on my bike squad and in order to 'get them done' have also been painting the leader of the platoon while I have been at it. At the moment, I have base-coated and washed them with Devlan mud and I am now in the process of repainting the colours. It has been slow going but I am getting there.

I went out for a coffee this afternoon because I was bored. I wasn't in the right frame of mind for painting so I dragged my daughter into town so that I could get some air and a change of environment. While I was out I bought a very cheap web-cam that will come in handy at some point, I'm sure.

I took a trip up into my loft to look for stuff...didn't find it...opened a cupboard downstairs and there it was! I have now started chopping up a Trade Federation tank to go with the Thunderbird 2 to make a Beetle-bot APC (that will count as a Monolith). Started chopping...got bored...put it away again.

I flew my mini helicopter around the room a bit...got bored...put it away. Painted a bit...got bored...stopped.

Can you notice a theme here. I just hope that I get some sleep tonight because I have my fitness test tomorrow and I would like to vaguely run in the right direction.

Just because I haven't got any hobby pictures...

Click the Pic!

See you from the gravy boat!

Trying to get back in the game...

I am going to give myself a good shake and focus! That is the plan, anyway. I have been doing a lot of browsing (by that read 'random shopping') to try and fire some enthusiasm and have had various bits and bobs turn up in the post.

First I had a couple of Ground Zero Games, resin kits turn up as an extremely generous gift from a friend on the WIP forum . They were a six wheeled APC and a small flier and they will both come in useful once I decide what faction/race to attach them to.

Next, I a number of purchases through the post. First, I received four Space Dwarfs and a free Goblin from Silent Spectre Studio. They are nice little miniatures from an amateur sculptor who is trying to break into the miniatures market (so give his site a look!).

My Marauder has arrived from Fenris Games after a replacement being sent as a result of the first one going missing in the mail. Not only did one e-mail sort the issue out but I also received a few extra bits and bobs as 'compensation' for the wait. I say "Thank you Fenris!" and would suggest that there are other companies who could follow this fine example.

My Decals arrived and they came with a nice coloured booklet with photos of the Merlin and the Splat included.  Here is the decal sheet that I received:

Click the Pic!

The Splat design is in two parts; the colours and the outline. The sheet will be sealed away with its booklet and kept for prosperity. I may get a second set and 'Splat' a flier in the future (especially if the dropship gets built...maybe, I'll even paint a larger version instead!).

Plans are afoot to get me back on track...and that means that I need to paint some Grymn. My current idea is to finish off the bike platoon for Void and then paint up a squad of Urban Grymn. I think that I really need to get them going and I also think that once I get a squad done, I may get the urge to paint a few more. Of course, I will have other things floating about...but that is the very basic plan. The Grymn will be basic colours rather than having any complicated camouflage so that I can get them painted relatively quickly...nothing increases enthusiasm better than finished units!

I have written another bit of text for my STORY so feel free to pop along and read it. Things are going to get more and more interesting as the voyage continues...

Lastly...a funny story...

...When I get tired, my words disappear. I often have trouble remembering simple things and need prompting when I am talking to people. Most of the time, I appreciate this because I am tired all the time. The trouble is, I also mix words up...only names though. On my last trip to Kenya, I called one of my mates 'Dave' for the entire time we were there. His name was Big Rob. He just put up with it and took the mickey a bit. Yesterday I sent an e-mail to a guy named Paul. Understand that I am in a new job, dealing with high profile, professional people from outside agencies. Anyway, I get a phone call. 

'Was the e-mail meant for me or am I just taking a note of it?' said Paul.

'It's for you...that's why you are the only person in the receiving box' I replied.

'Oh...so who's Dave then?' He says.

'...Ah...I guess I've done it again!' I say 'Sorry Paul...it just happens sometimes.'

Fortunately, I have known Paul a long time and he took it in good spirits...but next time...who knows who will be called Dave?!?!.

See you from the nice, white, comfy, padded, room!

The doldrums.

I knew it had to happen at some point because I have had such a good run of hobby creativity... I have hit the doldrums and am having an immense amount of trouble picking up a brush or sculpting tool. It isn't all bad though. I have been writing again and have written the third instalment in the Duplicate story...feel free to click this link: STORY and scroll down to find the third part (or read the whole thing if you like).

Things in the mix are varied. I have my Void bikes on the table and they are slowly getting painted. I also have five resin space Dwarfs in the process of paint and they are sitting next to the bikes. Beside those is a Grymn in powered armour that is waiting for a claw to be sculpted. Everything else is in the cupboard. I had hoped that clearing the decks would help to get me painting but it doesn't seem to have worked...

...so I have been doing a lot of thinking. The Dropship idea has changed from day to day and I am even going to the effort of asking serious model makers about internal measurements of modern aircraft kits in various scales. One of many ideas is to strap a couple of modern transport aircraft together and work from there...other ideas include wooden frames with thick foil walls held on with pins and even a length of waste-pipe. The problem is that I know what I want to do but have yet to work out how I will do it. It is no biggy though...it's not as if I haven't got a lot to get on with while I think about it.

On top of that, I have been thinking about the vehicles for my Urban Grymn and am getting close to thinking about assembling them (I have ten to assemble). The trouble is that my working storage area is currently filled with 150+ Grymn, mechs and vehicles that all need varnishing...so I have to be careful about what I build because I will have nowhere to put it. I also have no colour scheme sorted so that will slow things down as well.

I have stalled on the Mantic space Dwarfs...I will make further comment about those at some point when I can be bothered (oh dear).

I have been checking out my VASA minis and have decided on a few colour changes for some existing minis as well as some minor recovery jobs on some of the Black Legion minis I have. It is important for me to keep up the momentum with the Void stuff because I have joined the challenge of '£10-00 a month PLUS' and want to achieve that.

My writing has stimulated a need for a few character sculpts...but until the doldrums finish, there is no chance of that.

Roll on the weekend! Hopefully, I can shake off the lack of motivation and get back to the hobby again.

See you whilst I'm standing by the lamp-post, on the corner of the street!

What? More?

Shhh...don't tell anyone...but I've written a bit more STORY (you'll need to scroll down a bit when you get there).

See you from inside the cupboard...

Zig-zagging along.

I had one of those days today.

Work was a little quiet so I had a bit of time to think (bloody dropship won't go away!!!).

I had a nice run at lunchtime...until I slipped over...not immediately a problem but DAMN my knee is sore tonight.

I started painting bits on my Void bikes this evening but got bored so I dug out some resin Space Dwarfs to clean and prep instead.

I have been looking through my miniatures boxes and seeing what I had for VASA apart from the jump troops and marines and found a Void Knight of Balance and a Void Knight of Silence and whilst looking through my segmented boxes of minis I had a huge surge of guilt...

...so many Grymn (100+) with so many plans and yet they still sit there waiting for the start.  My last Urban Grymn troops have so put me off the camouflage that I may end up scrapping the urban theme and returning to more familiar ground...

SO tonight, I have been mostly annoying everybody :).

A cup of de-caf and bed I think.

See you from the end of a bungee rope!

Another day older...

Well, it would appear that today, I mark another notch on the life-post...it's my birthday.  So far, I have had a mellow day and have had a 'picnic' lunch in the country...for that read McDonalds, in the car whilst parked in a lay-by overlooking fields.

I have received a couple of gift vouchers that will mean another visit to GW at some point (batons and riot shields at the ready!) and some well wishes so I am quite happy with my lot today.

On to the grander scale of things, I have been busy tinkering and have managed to change direction yet again!  Instead of painting the Void bikes like I planned, I have returned to the converting table and have finished a few of my Beetle-bot conversions.  First of all, the five finished Immortals:

Click the pic!

These were sitting there goading me to get them finished so I had no choice...and while I was at it I thought I may as well finish the five sniper-bots as well:

Click the Pic!

Now I don't have any conversions sitting on my table, waiting to be finished.  That means that I can get on with other things...and it was at this point, I realised just how little needed to be done to the Tunnel Fighter, drone-squad vehicle to finish it...so I finished it:

Click the Pic!

It is a converted Marauder APC from Fenris Games and is the perfect vehicle to carry the drones and their controllers.

What else has been going on?  Well, as usual, I can't stop buying things so I have ordered 4 Dwarfs from Silent Spectre Games (sci-fi), 5 Russian Power-Armour suits from Micro Panzer, a sheet of decals from another on-line shop, a Junkers force-book for Void1.1 and I also have another Marauder coming from Fenris Games.

I have been sent some Necron Scarabs (as a kind gift), have a couple of resin vehicles being sent as a gift as well (more on that in a future post) and have traded DALEKS for Necrons.  In a bid to help out a little (it is the least I can do with all the gifts I am getting at the moment!), I have sent a bunch of Necron bits to someone building a 15mm drone army.

WOW!  

On to Void and I have been pottering along, slowly, with the bike squad and will most likely get that finished for next Sunday.  I am thinking that once the bikes are finished (including the leading biker), I will start on some Shuriken Guards...I have a small squad of five that are bare metal, straight from the box that need a bit of cleaning up and painting.

The draw of drop-ships has not been far from my mind and I have broached the subject of building a 2 foot long aircraft with a 2 foot wingspan on the living room table...I got a long silence and a disapproving look but my lovely wife understands that if I HAVE to do it then she will just have to stand by and watch otherwise I'll drive her mad.

So, add to that the lack of sleep I'm getting (bleeping drop-ship!), the running I have been doing and the work that I have going on...not to mention some WRITING ...and you'll see that Inso's World is on complete overdrive at the moment.

See you from the stress councillor's office!

Angles are just so yesterday...

What does a metre long piece of 150mm, plastic ducting have in common with a platoon of Grymn troops?

What makes the space shuttle and a C17 Globemaster the same...but different?

How many 'D' rings does it take to allow enough points to tie something down without affecting the integrity of a floor?

I guess that I have been re-visiting my original theories on drop-ship design and I have been taking a close look at various big lift aircraft and the good old Space Shuttle for ideas.  It seems that all the angles that I had planned have lost their appeal and in a fit of insanity, I have decided that a tube will make a good base for my design.

I will have to adapt a few things (like adding panels to widen the tube...yes...WIDEN it!) but I reckon when I'm done, the drop-ship will be about 2 foot long with a similar wingspan.

It will have two decks with the bottom one being for cargo/APC transport and the upper one for troop transportation.

I haven't started buying anything YET...but the itch is really getting annoying lately...

AND on a different note, I have written a short story!  Here is the link:  LINK

...oh...and I couldn't resist buying the decal set that has my 'Splat' artwork in it...I'll share when it gets here.

See you from the drawing board!

A bit of a surprise.

I was at work today and happened to find a picture on the web that surprised me...

...a few years ago I was deployed in a sunny country and working on Merlin helicopters.  One of them returned in a poorly condition after having a head on collision with a bird and the nose cone was badly damaged.  Fortunately, the nice Americans had a workshop that could cope with composite repairs and we got it patched up... they did an excellent job... but they didn't have the right colour paint.  Seeing as the paint was the wrong colour, the repair was non standard and the nose cone would be replaced when we could get the spares, I got the opportunity to paint something nice:

Click the BIG pic!

Well...today I noticed that the picture on line had been taken back in England and I also found out that my artwork adorned the Merlin for a good couple of months before the nose cone was replaced.  I then noticed that a model making company was producing special decals and one of them was the 'Splat!' design that I painted!

How cool is that!?

...so I'm painting Viper Wing bikes tonight :)

See you from the front of the queue!

I haven't forgotten...

I would like to welcome porkandbeans to Inso's World.  I hope you find something to your liking as you wander through the mazes and topiary of my blog.  Feel free to use ideas and share comments!

So...what haven't I forgotten?  The Void1.1 project.  Last month, I finished a couple of bike squads for my VASA army (in fact, the two bike squads ARE my VASA army!) so in order to keep things plodding along, I put aside my drive for 'robotic domination of the world' and prepared another bike squad.

It is a bike squad that is exactly the same as the last two.

It is all cleaned and assembled but the putty needs to dry so I can't really start painting the bikes yet.

I decided that tonight I needed a bit of a rest.  Yesterday, I went for the first run of the year and today it feels like I have been run over by a truck.  Add to that a run of limited sleep and the last thing I could face was drilling and pinning tiny bits and pieces together...so cleaning and assembling a few bikes was a good breather from that and it meant that I got something productive done by getting the bikes ready for paint.

Super!

Oh how the twists and turns of my mind play tricks on me!

Meow!

See you from the edge of reason!

Snipers in bound!

I have just put together a small 'How To' for the Sniper Bots...and here it is:

Click the Pic!

...and there it was!

See you from the dock of the bay!

The second Sunday post.

What a week I have had!  I have been doing an awful lot of sorting out...both in the house and with the hobby. I must have shredded a sack full of old documents; some going back 17 years!  Various uniform has been bagged up for storage (desert camouflage...no longer used due to new multi-cam being issued...but they don't want it back in stores so I have to drag it around with me everywhere), boxes sorted through and bin-bags filled up.

It feels good to sort things out once in a while...

...and the same thing goes with the hobby.  Prior to Christmas, I had a big sort out, put a lot of stuff away, went through my paints and binned the dead ones, tidied tools away and generally sorted the hobby area out.  Yesterday, I went through my growing collection of Necron plastics and de-sprued everything to sort into multi-celled storage boxes.  I also put all the components needed for individual Beetle-bots into little kits in plastic bags so all I need to do is pick up a bag and I have everything I need to build a single Beetle-bot.  It really is amazing to see the amount of waste plastic that is generated when you de-sprue all those spare components.

Once I had finished all that, I was able to list what I had for the Beetle-bot army and so far we have:

1x Lord on foot (finished)
3x Destroyers (finished)
12x Beetle-bots (finished)

5x Wraiths (converted and waiting for paint)
5x Immortals (conversions in progress)
5x Deathmarks (conversion in progress)

22x Beetle-bots (not started)
1x Heavy Destroyer (not started)
1x Destroyer Lord (not started)
1x Monolith (not started)

It all makes up quite a little force and the bonus is that I have everything I need to put together what is listed above (apart from a few bits and bobs for the Monolith...but that is still in the design phase).

So, in amongst all the tidying, sorting and general day-to-day stuff, I managed to put together a how to (see last post) and convert a few other bits and bobs.  First, I have finished the last two Wraiths and here they all are together:

Click the Pic!

The two newest ones are on the black bases.  None of them have seen any paint yet because I want to finish the Immortals and Deathmarks (Sniper beetles) before I move on to the paint stage.  Speaking of Immortals, I built a second one while putting together the How To:

Click the Pic!

So, there are three more Immortals and four more Deathmarks to go before I start painting the bots.  

On the subject of paint, I have started painting my Mantic Forgeguards.  I decided to spray undercoat them and have been ticking along very slowly (I have been busy with other things) so there are no pics to show off but I am working on them.

Well, I think that about finishes things up for today!

Coming up soon will be more How To guides and more Beetle-bots... but not today!

See you from the spire!

The first of my Sunday post.

As a start to a bit of a busy Sunday of posting, I will show you all how I set about building my latest Beetle-bots...the Immortals:

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

The pictures above are a comprehensive guide to converting a Necron into a Beetle-bot.  As you can see, there is a lot of work that goes into each one so you can imagine the time that is required to put these together.  That means that an army of them takes a huge amount of time to build up.  Even the simpler Beetle-bots take a similar amount of effort so to build these takes grit, determination...and possibly a few voices at the back of your mind!

Later today, I will be posting a few pix of other bits and bobs that I have finished this week.

See you...a little bit later on!

The invasion continues

I'd like to welcome my newest follower Makaison!  Welcome to Inso's World and I hope you enjoy investigating the local area.  You never know what you'll find.

If I am not mistaken (I may well be), I reckon Makaison is someone who I've just traded with to get more Necrons.  If that is the case...cheers greatly!  If it isn't the case...move along; nothing to see here :D .

So...I have been wheeling and dealing and have managed to source another 12 Necrons and 12 Scarabs with more scarabs being kindly donated by someone over at the Forum of Doom (I will wait with anticipation for them).  Add to that a 10" long, stripped down, Thunderbird 2 model, my remaining Necrons and a host of 'bits and bobs' and it looks like I am in the grip of the latest project to resurrect itself.

So much for plans!

That said, I have an almost complete transport for the Tunnel Fighter army, sitting on the painting table...so it isn't all Beetle-bots (although it may as well be).

While all this conversion is going on, I have been gripped by my dropship demon.  I can see myself digging out some of my Old Crow vehicles for measuring so that I can start working out the size of the beast.  One thing I have been working on is how to break it up into modules and I have decided to build things in bits with dowels to join the modules together.  The first module will be the cargo area...hence the need to measure the 'cargo'.

Thoughts have also turned to the Beetle-bot transport (a counts-as Monolith made from the Thunderbird 2 toy).  I am not saying too much more about it at the moment but I am trying to find a way of making it 'cute' but still quite menacing.  It will also need to look like it will do the job...so there is quite a lot to think about!

My brain is burning!

Well...that is it for now.  I will have a few pix to show off on Sunday so it will be something to look forward to.

See you from the poop-deck!

Back to work tomorrow...

Well, all good things come to an end and the Christmas holiday is one of them.  That means that there will be less posts but it doesn't mean that everything stops.  I have a couple of bits and bobs on the way through the post and I have a lot to be getting on with while they find their way here.

So today, I have been enjoying the last day off by going into town for lunch with my family and chilling out at home afterwards.

However, I have also been putting together an Immortal for my Beetle-bots:

Click the Pic!

I am not sure whether to add a pipe from the gun to the rear carapace but apart from that, I think he looks about right.  Only four more to build now.

While that is going on, I am ticking along with another two of the Wraiths so when all the dust settles, I should have 5 Wraiths and 5 Immortals.

Time ticks by...

See you through the maize!

The voices have been at work...

...and they have been telling me how to use the other Thunderbird 2 that is on the way.

If you squint... and look at it in a specific way... and imagine things are slightly different...with more legs...

...well, it sort of looks like a beetle, doesn't it?

Get rid of the wings, add some legs (where from, I can't even begin to decide yet), a cockpit (two domes, like eyes?)... add a glowy door at the front, just under the nose...

Could it be a Monolith?

You could put the arc projectors on the legs and have the thing hover like a tomb spider...

It would be a pretty cheap Monolith when the base model (Thunderbird 2) only cost £7-99 including postage.  I have some wooden dowel and a host of Necron bits and bobs to make the weaponry.  I even have the domes needed for the cockpit (thanks to Hello Kitty phone tags from one of those dispensing machines :) ).

It is an idea...

See you in the cold light of a dead sun!

The first day...

Well, I guess it is welcome to 2012!  The first day of the year started really well but unfortunately, this afternoon, things have been curtailed by a mighty headache...so I haven't started converting any Immortals yet.  On the plus side, I have managed to finish the three Wraith conversions I was working on so here they are:

Click the Squad Pic!

Click the Resting Wraith Pic!

Click the Slowing Wraith Pic!

Click the Charging Wraith Pic!

I'm quite happy with them...even if they do look a little more aggressive than a lot of the Beetle-bots.  When these get painted, I may go for the glowing ghost approach that was done in the Lord of the Rings film for the ghosts...sort of a minty green.  It will help them look like they are slightly different to the rest of the troops (because they phase in and out of existence and can travel through things).

On to the Immortals and I will be taking a similar approach with them that I took with the standard bots, they will have a right arm that is physically connected to their heavy weapon and the left arm will either hold the gun or be free to use.  I have clipped a few bits and bobs off sprues, ready to start work but my focus is shot at the moment...so that is as far as I can go tonight (unless I shift this headache).

So last night went well...a couple of glasses of port, a bit of telly and a bit of a Karaoke session on the Wii with my family.  I saw in the new year watching an extraordinary display of fireworks in London...whether it was worth the cost at these times of Economic stagnation is anyone's guess.  So a good night...and I went to bed sober(ish).  

That is about it for now.  I'll echo yesterday's sentiment and wish you all a Happy New Year again and see you for another post next time.

See you through my fingers!