I am mostly distracted!

Hello again. It's Sunday and time for a bit of a round up of this week's activities on the hobby front... so...

...Let's talk about Captain America and the Winter Soldier.

Over all, it was a great film with excellent tech, some great characters and expanded characterisation, spectacular special effects and some great bad guys. The film has a host of little plot twists and the action is fast paced. What really helped in this film was that we got 'under the skin' of some of the characters (Cap, Black Widow and Nick Fury) and it helped make them more human. The one thing that always bothers me about superhero films is that they have a mix of super and non-super characters that sometimes all take the same pounding and carry on fighting. I would suggest that if a normal person was struck in the face by a metal arm that was attached to a super-soldier, they would be hospitalised straight away... apparently, this is not always the case.

Did I like the film? Yep, I loved it. It was also better than the first one and the addition of The Falcon was a fantastic idea (he is a great character).

Remember to stay after the credits because there is extra stuff that may well tie into the next Avengers film... who knows?

I made a terrible mistake this week. I did the 'random bid' thing on Ebay and as soon as I'd bid, I thought "Why did I do that?!" Well... I won the auction and this turned up in the post:

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I really can't say why I bid on it but I now have a box of 30 'on the sprue' Imperial Guardsmen with another 6 poorly assembled and covered in glue. Well... 5 poorly assembled and covered in glue... one of them has now been converted:

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He's not perfect and the next one will be a bit better but it was just an itch that I thought I'd scratch. I'll convert the 5 remaining 'off the sprue' troopers and then make a decision as to whether I continue with the brand new ones. One thing I do need to sort out is what to arm the Squat troopers with. I am not keen on the lasguns in the box and have Catachan lasguns, Cadian lasguns and bolters that are available to use... but I am not sure which will be the best? I am probably either going to use bolters or a chopped down Cadian lasgun...Hmmm...

###EDIT###

A small update:

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Just the base to paint. I thought I'd pay homage to his origins with his paint job.

This week, I should have been painting these:

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Well, I have been but they are not finished... due to other distractions. They are currently basecoated, awaiting a tidy up before being washed. I should have them finished this week but with so many distractions... who knows? 

I have been sculpting again! My commissions have had some work so they are getting closer to being finished.

Now onto Kickstarters. I was part of the Deadzone Kickstarter last year and have still not received all of my wave one stuff, even though it is being sold in the Mantic store. As a result, I must admit that my patience ran out and I have written an email to Mantic for a swift resolution. I had hoped that the process of filling in the 'missing items' form would have sorted this out by now but it seems not to have... so let's see what happens now. 

In other Kickstarter news, the Mechadrome Kickstarter is still ticking along but needs all of the support it can get so that I can get hold of my 28mm mechs! They have recently shown off the medium mech renders with all the weapon options and also a set of automated weapon platforms... well worth a look and a pledge.

My decals haven't arrived yet so I still haven't finished the Grymn Powered Armour. I am not worried though. Dom's Decals are top quality but I think they are printed to order so I expect to wait a little while. 

Well... I think that is about it for today. I know it has been a bit random today but I hope you all found something of interest in amongst the ramblings! The trouble is that I've had too much sugar today so everything is a bit hectic...

See you from the belly of a T-Rex!

New mech from Mechadrome.

Just a quick update on the Mechadrome kickstarter... a new mech called Trion. He's a freelancer and is a 15mm mech:

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There are also a few renders of the Medium Mech with various weapon options:

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There is much more to come so pop along and pledge (mostly because I want some 28mm mechs).

See you from the bus queue!

Spring is in the air.

This week has seen the first day of Spring... and the temperature has taken a dip! However, nature has decided to make a stand and there is blossom on the trees, there are daffodils and snowdrops in the hedgerows and the birds are being decidedly frisky and vocal about things. Spring is great because it is like an awakening after the pause of winter.

Why all the gushing about Spring? The seasons of 'more light during the day' are here and that gives me a bit more enthusiasm to do things.

I could make lots of excuses this week about being tired out (which I was), distracted with work (which I was) and generally not being in a very motivated place (which I was) but I'm not going to. Instead I'll talk about my Grymn powered armour platoon...

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The above picture shows two images of the same painted squad. You will notice (if you look very hard) that they are all painted; including rank markings. Well, since this picture was taken, I have gloss varnished them ready for adding the decals. Yesterday, I sat down and trimmed all of the number decals ready for them to be applied... but I haven't put them on yet. It may be because I have some regiment decals coming from Dom's Decals and I want to get all of the decals out of the way at once or it may be because I have had another small distraction to keep me busy. Needless to say, I expect that they will have the decals added at some point and then I will matt varnish them and lose sleep over what vehicles to use for them (I have ideas but am not sure if I want to pay the price for them...Hmmm).

Did I mention a distraction? Well... here is a very purple distraction:

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He is a powered armoured Kieran from Hasslefree Miniatures and is a resin master. I bought the miniature for four main reasons:

1. It is a very cool miniature.
2. I wanted to see how it measured up against the Grymn.
3. I already have powered armoured Meg (his sister).
4. I was ordering a few other things so it made sense to order him at the same time.

When I got him in hand, I quickly realised that he fits in perfectly with the Grymn (as you can see from the Grymn in the image) and also that a little bit of chopping would mean that the Grymn powered armour arms could be added for more variety. When I first saw the miniature I saw the potential to have a small command squad for my Grymn NMA but needed to check before I bought a batch. Seeing as this was a resin master and, as a result, was more expensive than a metal miniature, I decided that I wouldn't chop him up but would add him to a small unit instead. It was an obvious choice to add him to the Pug Squad:

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... And that is why he is purple. The trouble is, all I can see is an empty space on that movement tray and as a result, I have quickly assembled a miniature to fill the gap... but you'll have to wait for that!

In other news, I have bought into another Kickstarter. I shouldn't have... but then there are a lot of things in life that I shouldn't have done but I can live with it! The Kickstarter in question is Mechadrome. It is a game aimed at 15mm and involves a number of rather neat mechs. As a result of my questions (and other people's too), the creator has decided to put together some 28mm mechs as a side-line (at the moment, they aren't catered for in the game, they are just 28mm 'show-off' miniatures for people to paint up and use for whatever they want) so I jumped on board. Here is a teaser showing examples of a 15mm and 28mm version of a Terran mech:

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They are cool, aren't they? Jump on board and pledge here: MECHADROME KS LINK.

Have you ever seen the film called 'Pay it Forward' or heard about the idea behind it? Pay it forward is where you help five people or give them a gift and they agree to do the same to another five people... and so on. I am involved with a Pay it Forward project on Facebook and have already gathere things together for three of my list of six people (there is always that one person who you want to add... you know, the person who is awesome, selfless and never asks for anything). One is complete, so I just have five left. It is a good feeling to be spreading a bit of hapiness about... maybe you should give something similar a go? It may completely change your outlook on life... who knows?

That's your lot for today.

See you from the edge!

Hellboy on the box... and an almost but not quite...

It's Sunday again and I was hoping to show off a fully painted (but not marked) powered armour platoon. However, fate took a hand in stealing away some of my painting time as I was called in to help a damsel in distress... and spent a good couple of hours assembling a children's kitchen playset for a neighbour. Mind you, it was quite entertaining so I wasn't too bothered. I have managed to get this far with my platoon... just three more troops to go before I can start giving them rank and squad markings::

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The three at the front are now ready for the wash stage and then it will be a case of final highlights and basing. Once they are marked up, the real problem starts... that of finding suitable transport for them. I have a Quinjet that I hoped to convert for them to ride in but I am not so convinced now... but I guess we'll see nearer the time.

In other Grymn related news, I have been searching for four scout vehicles to go with a sniper unit (four fire-teams with four troops in each) and have looked at what is available and nothing really suits what I want so I bought some wheels so that I can build my own. My record for scratch-building vehicles is very poor but you never know... maybe this time I will be lucky.

You may remember me mentioning a parcel that I recently received from Pewter Ponies... well, here is a tiny teaser pic of what I got in the box:

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I have no idea what I am going to do with them... I only supported the miniatures to help with funding as they are really quite cute and worth a chance. Only time can say what will happen to them.

So a good few months ago, I sculpted a goblin for Goblin Aid and have sat back and waited for some paint jobs to be completed on it. Well, I found one and it is great:

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It was painted by Orlando the Great over at Frothers Unite and I think it shows my sculpt off really well and I am very pleased to see what has been achieved. Hopefully, there will be many more versions of it.

Well, that about sums things up for today. I need to get some Devlan Mud slapped on a few Grymn.

See you from the brink of war!

A monumentous occasion.

This weekend has seen the 18th birthday celebrations of my son. Friday was his birthday and after he'd spent the afternoon with his mum, he came to the pub with me for the first time as a legal patron. Needless to say that the evening was spent drinking and playing pool... with a lot of good natured chat along the way.

Yes... I had to carry him home but I think it was a great evening and he agreed.

The following night (for him) was his first nightclub experience with his older mates, which he also enjoyed greatly.

So... I have had a few distractions. This has meant that although I have managed to get a bit of painting done, I haven't got any pix again.

From a Grymn perspective, I have just got the final grey highlights and the bases to add to another three powered armour troopers and they will be finished... leaving just six more to finish for the whole platoon. Once the platoon is painted, I still have to add all the trandfers/decals but I'll wait until they are all painted so I can do them all together.

In other news, two more Votoms kits turned up from Japan so I can now say that I have all of the kits I need. I also had a surprise arrival from SLAP miniatures... my pewter pony miniatures (which I will show off at another time).

So... last week I went to Overlord and bought a few bits and bobs. One of which was this:

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He's a Cybertronic Immortal from the Warzone Resurrection game. I didn't really know what to do with him so I had to get my thinking cap on... but it wasn't too hard to find a place for him in my Super team:

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He's big but I think he still fits in.

I also bought a box of cheap Space Rangers from Em4, some little robot technicians from Crooked Dice, some 15mm Werewolfs from MJ Figures, some pack-less GW Kasrkin stormtroopers from the bring-and-buy and finally a Warmachine character from the same place. I bought a few laser cut bases as well but I binned them because they smelt terrible. The Space Rangers are on the paint table next to the Grymn in powered armour... so they are getting a bit of paint when I get fed up with painting angles and lines.

This week should hopefully be a bit less hectic... we'll see I guess!

See you from the pool table!

Another Sunday.

Before I start today's post, I'd like to welcome The Lord of Excess, head head and Wyvern Wrangler to Inso's World. I hope you all enjoy your stay and find something of interest amongst the various corridors and pathways.

This week has been another slow one in the hobby camp but busy in 'real life'. Amongst all the usual working routine, I have had my annual ground training (first aid, security, fire safety, shooting and respirator training) and my fitness test to keep me busy. It is all done now so I can focus on better things now.

Hobby wise, I finished of another of the fire teams for the powered armoured units and have started another one... but they look just the same as the rest so I haven't taken a pic. I'll get a pic when the squad is finished. I haven't had the eye for sculpting but I have been busy on the E-Bay front and have bought another couple of Votoms mechs (Fatty and Berserga) so I am now confident that I have all of the variants I require for my Votoms project (once the kits arrive, of course). I also bagged a very cheap, assembled mecha... which I have now stripped down ready for converting... and it is a Da-Web mech from Megaro-Zamac. I am sure that it will crop up at some point.

In other news, I went to the Overlord event in Abingdon today and it was exactly as I'd expect. The event filled two large halls and there were plenty of sellers and games to keep my attention for a few hours... well done to the Abingdon Wargamers... it was a very well run event and I met some very nice people. I took a few pounds to spend and have bought a few bits and bobs (I'll share in a future post)... but what I'd really like to reflect on is how the internet paints a picture that real life doesn't match...

Warzone Resurrection is a radically new version of the old Warzone game and uses computer design and 3D printing to produce some excellent miniatures. I have seen many of the renders on line and have also purchased some of them (three Vulkans) but today, I learned a valuable truth...

... The internet lies!

What!? I hear you cry. Yes, you heard me; the internet lies.

The one thing the internet can't provide is a true reflection of the 'presence' of things. You can get an idea of the size and measurements of a miniature... or even comparisons with other miniature types but in order to really get an idea of how the miniature looks and feels... you need to see it in the flesh. This was highlighted to me today when I visited the Warzone Resurrection stand at Overlord. In their display cabinet, they had a rather imposing, resin mech called an Eradicator. I have seen it on line before but wrote it off for being 'gangly' and ungainly. Well, I got the opportunity to pick one up and get the feel of it, turn it over in my hands and generally decide how it really looked... and it was much more imposing than the website could possibly show. Fortunately, it wasn't for sale at the event (or I would have been in trouble) but it has certainly been elevated to something I want to buy. I also think that it could possibly double as a Knight titan with the addition of a proper head... but hey... what do I know? The only problem I have now is finding the money to buy one!

That is about it for today.

See you from the race track!