Busy Summer Heat.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

Is it August already? Time is flying by at the moment and it seems that the summer heat has arrived in all its fiery glory, this year! The last month or so have been a mix of being half asleep, melting, sweating and being busy getting stuff done. I've been out on my bike a bit more, we have had our poorly boiler replaced with a lovely new one and I've also got a new tattoo so I am "tattoo symmetrical" now:

Click the Pic!

It's a traditional style Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer) and for the time being, I have no plans for any more tattoos. The tattoo marked the first day of a week away from work for my wife and I but rather than go on holiday, we arranged all sorts of annoying chores to be done during that week while we were at home to oversee things; namely a boiler fit and a few other bits and bobs... so time well spent.

On the hobby front, sculpting has been a bit on and off; mostly due to the weather being very hot and causing sweaty hands... but I have still managed to work through a few bits and bobs. First up, I sculpted three more Sergeants for the helmeted AK Troopers:

Click the Pic!

These have been sent off with the Commissars (shown in the last Blog post) and the Casualty (from February's Blog Post), to Macrocosm Miniatures and have already been cast so I should receive some copies soon. While I have been waiting for those, I have also converted/sculpted three more Comms Troopers for the helmeted AK Troopers:

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On top of those, I have head swapped a set of the basic AK Troopers but they are currently drying so no pix yet. I have another set of basic AK Troopers that have got helmets but are waiting for their faces to be sculpt. I am also working on four AK Medics; three are on the corks and one has already been converted (sorry, no pix yet). Once those are finished, I'll be looking to sculpt some Special Weapon Troopers and some Heavy Weapon Troopers so the conveyor is truly working overtime at the moment.

The plan is to build all of the troops required to field a Death Korps of Krieg (DKoK) army so I will be hoping to sculpt some small weapon platforms to count as those seen in the DKoK heavy weapon squads... but that's a little way off yet.

Overall, I have the following list (so far) of what I am aiming to create for the helmeted AK Troopers range:

4 Commissars (including the old one from the first army)

4 Sgts

4 Comms Troopers

4 Medics

4 Special Weapon Troopers

4 Heavy Weapon Troopers

15 Basic Troopers

Later:

6 Heavy Weapon Gunners

3 Heavy Weapon Spotters

3 Heavy Weapons (Twin Stubber, Lascannon, Heavy Flamer)

1 empty Heavy Weapon Platform

That's quite a lot of sculpting BUT I am already getting through the list quite quickly so it isn't going to take a massively long time.

In my next Blog post, I should have all of the Basic AK Troopers finished along side the finished Medics so there's something to look forward to.

In a completely random direction... the bike that I passed on to my buddy a couple of months ago, is now running, repaired and has been rebuilt! As soon as I get to see it, I'll try and get some pix.

See you from the tattoo parlour!

Flaming June

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

The last couple of months have been pretty full-on with May being difficult to top. The first week of May having:

    Flora Day band practice.

    A Hen Night.

    A Stag Night.

    My daughter's Wedding.

    Flora Eve.

    Flora Day.

    The quiet after Flora Day.

All I can say is that it was the very best of weeks and I was on such a high after all of the social excess that I hadn't felt quite so happy in a very long time. My Daughter's Wedding went perfectly and she looked stunning. The Flora festivities went perfectly; especially with family stopping down to enjoy it with us. What a week!!!

I have also spent time in the newly refurbished Cornwall Air Ambulance shop and it is a much better space now. The interior has been replaced with cleaner, more modern decoration and fittings and the exterior is still undergoing repairs and refurbishment so it is really getting the transformation that it needs.

Work at the Day Centre has been as good as ever and next month (July) will be the second anniversary of me working there. To say that it has been a joy to work there would be an understatement. There are obviously aspects of working with people living with Dementia, that can be challenging and emotionally difficult but after two years, I am still very happy to be working where I do... and hopefully, will continue to enjoy it for the foreseeable future.

Do you remember me buying a second motorcycle after my friend crashed it? That was SEVEN years ago! It has been sat in my garage for all that time, waiting for me to break the emotional block (due to my friend passing away - RIP, Jules) to actually restore it. Well, a mutual friend has agreed to take the bike and restore it so the VFR has now gone to a new home and will get the love it deserves:

Click the Pic!

So... lighter shoulders and a lot of "stuff" going on. Then the wheels sort of fell off a bit. I have struggled a bit with a dark mood over the last couple of weeks; not helped by a big twitch after hearing some air-raid sirens on the news... proper rattled me. I guess that I still have some sharp memories from my time in Iraq... but it has passed now so I have landed and the dreams have declined in tempo.

As you can imagine, with everything that's been going on, I haven't had a lot of time for hobby... but I think I've done pretty well. I wanted to sculpt three Commissars and that is what I've managed to do:

Click the Pix!

The first two are designed to be basic Commissars that will join Commissar Butters as part of the leadership team. The third one is a rather special Commissar Lord who has been designed to use the rules of Commissar Yarrick and as such, is "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) for that character.

I am planning to add a Death Korps of Krieg (DKoK) company to my existing Cadian/Catachan army and will need a bunch of Commissars for the job... hence these sculpts. 

With DKoK in mind, I have started the process of adding more helmet-clad, AK troopers to the mix and have decapitated a few "chip Hat" troopers for conversion:

Click the Pic!

While the muse lasts, I may as well use it.

That's it for now!

See you from a new district!

Mid August? Already?

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

Time is flying by... Birthdays have come and gone... Christenings too... my daughter got engaged... work... and my bike passed its MOT (it had only done 71 miles since the last one so it really was due to pass)... life continues in pretty much the same vein as it usually does... Ticking along, as I usually say.

I managed to go to a small wargames/CCG event, locally... it was a nice little event and it was run by a local charity called Roll the Dice.

The hobby has been rather eventful... I received casts for the greens I showed off in the last post so I have assembled and painted some of them...

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That's the first of two units consisting of an Engineseer and four Servitors. I have another unit to build and paint but I have been preoccupied with sculpting since then; especially because there were some of the AK rifles in the pack of castings... these are WIP but I am nearly finished with these five "AK Troopers" for Macrocosm Miniatures:

Click the Pic!

Just heads, collars and basing tabs to go now. They should be finished very soon because I am a sculpting maniac at the moment and you have to make hay while the sun shines. Once these ones are finished I have to create a helmet for a set of them so that it can be sent away for mastering... then, when I get some troopers and the helmet back, I can sculpt alternative heads/headgear on some.

In other news, I have a few commissions that are outstanding; namely some small arms for a Rogue Trader sculptor and some weapon arms for some of the Bob Olley Exo armours, for another chap. In the meantime, I have been working on a "secret project" that is ticking along in the background and will be unveiled when it is finished.

On top of that, I was asked to sculpt a Historical figure for Check Point miniatures and ended up with this:

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It is Grigori Rasputin and was made for their Weird War range... and yes, he's a Dwarf. It is likely that there will be more character models sculpted for that range in the future so watch this space... although I was also building a "Goblin land torpedo" which is on the back-burner until I finish some of the other stuff... here's a WIP:

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The three "volcanoes" are part of the "secret project", with the land torpedo above ; also showing the tracks underneath.

Since the last blog post, I have also based and converted another platoon of troops for my personal army:

Click the Pix!

It's a Command Squad, three Infantry Squads and a Heavy Weapon Squad (with autocannons). The units are pretty standard with the Infantry Squads having a flamer as a special weapon and the Command Squad having a heavy flamer instead. This platoon won't be part of the end display but will still be counted as part of the army (I just wanted to have some flamers in the army and use some autocannons too).

That's pretty much it... apart from the "secret project" and a special character for the Jungle Dwarfs (WIP):

Click the Pic!

As a result of all the work that is going on, I have stopped taking commissions for the foreseeable future as I have quite a lot to get done!

... my non-drinking continues and as a result, I have now lost over 2 stone (15Kg) in weight... which is a thing... It's nice but I need to keep an eye on it because I didn't plan on the weight loss... so I'm going to have to start eating more pies/pasties/fish & chips; if it goes too far!

See you from the chippy!

Sculpting, painting and a brief step back in time.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again. Things have been hectic over the last month and there's lots to get through in this post so I'll get straight to it.

First up, life is ticking along as usual... work at the Day Centre is still great, I'm still getting the occasional shifts in the Cornwall Air Ambulance shop and I'm also getting a lot of hobby time in (at the expense of going out on my motorcycle).

My son has just finished his courses to become a fully substantive Corporal the the Royal Air Force so I am very proud of him. My daughter is working very hard, "cheffing" in the kitchen at the restaurant where she works and I'm very proud of her. My wife is still working hard, managing the playschool where she works and I'm very proud of her.

The cats are still being themselves and that's brilliant.

My motorbike is just sitting in the garage being neglected... something that has to change or it'll die...

Now for some hobby news (takes deep breath)...

First up, I have finished sculpting all the bits and bobs for the Servitor and it has been sent off for casting, along with an "AK47" styled weapon for the next little project:

Click the Pix!

The next little project has started and I currently have five armatures on corks with the first layer of putty on them, waiting for some enthusiasm to get to work on them.

I have also been commissioned to sculpt a few infantry weapons for a different company than usual so there will more news on that once I get into the work on those.

While all the sculpting has been going on, I have received a large batch of miniatures back from Chris at Macrocosm Miniatures and have been busy, prepping and painting them... 

First a pair of Astropaths:

Click the Pic!

These represent the penultimate miniatures in my army project so I've just got the Servitors to go and the army will be finished... although I will need to varnish all the miniatures in the army... and add tufts to the bases... and build the display base for it...

... however, the additional Engineseer needed some paint so he got some:

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Next we have an Adventurer:

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He is just a random chap that isn't part of the army but I just wanted to sculpt something different. 

Lastly we have a painted Diorama:

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I have 20 resin copies of the diorama that will be sold, at some point, to raise money for the Royal British Legion charity. More news on that once I get things sorted.

I have yet to get proper paint on this lot, however, since this photo was taken, they have been properly based and primed... they are the Predator Hunting Team with the Predator (Chaos Dwarf) at the front right:

Click the Pic!

As a result of getting extra hours at work, over the last couple of weeks, I have lost my motivation for sculpting so I haven't really looked at it. This will (hopefully) change after this week as my shifts will return to normal.

In a look back into my youth, I have also spent a couple of hours building this Father's Day gift:

Click the Pix!

It was very enjoyable and really made me remember the joys of assembling Lego! Bearing in mind that when I was younger, I was Lego obsessed, I am hoping that I don't rekindle that "horrendously expensive" obsession to add to the other "horrendously expensive" hobbies that I already have... 

That's the lot, I think. 

In the coming months, I hope to sculpt a small unit of Space Dwarfs (commission), some infantry weapons (commission), convert a few Servitors (when they arrive) and paint up 8 Servitors for the army (when they arrive). Hopefully, my muse hasn't gone on holiday and I can get things done. Only time will tell...

See you from the head of the line!

so it's 2023 now?

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

2022 has come and gone and even though I achieved a lot of things during the year, my biggest achievement was shaking off Long COVID and getting back to being myself again.

2022 was supposed to be "the year of the beast"; a year of sculpting up some sci-fi beast men but I seem to be really struggling to sculpt anything but Space Dwarfs. So far, since my last post, all I have done is sculpt an Ordnance Officer and start a couple of other sculpts... namely an Air Advisor and a commission diver.

Here's the Ordnance Officer:

Click the Pic!

... and here's the WIP Air Avisor:

Click the Pic!

He is going to be fairly unique in that he is the only male Space Dwarf to not have a beard... but up until VERY recently, the RAF didn't allow you to have beards so I felt it was okay... just this once.

Once the Air Advisor is finished, I am planning to knuckle down and finish a couple of commissions... and the two robots that go along with the Engineseer. The trouble is that the commissions aren't Dwarfs so I am struggling to change my viewpoint enough to get some proper work done on them. 

Further into the new year, I am hoping to get some more of my army painted. It would really be great to have a "finished product" at some point and it won't happen if I don't take some time away from all the sculpting. Maybe if I keep looking at my painted troops, I'll get the bug...

Click the Pix!

Away from the hobby, I want to get my bike MOT'd and start working on the project bike again. I have a little time each week, where I can have "tinkering time", it's just a case of fitting chores, hobby and volunteering around it.

I am still volunteering at the Air Ambulance shop for three mornings a week and am still getting therapy once a week... but there should be time in amongst everything to dig out my spanners.

So much to do, so little time!

Anyway... happy new year to you all and I hope this year works well for you.

See you from the firework display!

Reflection.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again. I was going to do a review of 2021 and wax lyrical on the pros and cons of the year... but I have decided that it would be really miserable so I am not going to. However, there were a few things that happened that are worth talking about so I'll get those out of the way before launching into my plans for 2022. That said... lets get on with 2021...

Hobby Stuff.

This year has seen the completion of the Space Dwarf Project with Macrocosm Miniatures. This project had a number of set goals and I deliberately placed a limit on what I wanted to achieve. Since the completion, I have agreed to a few other bits and bobs but they are outside of the project (even though they will form part of the range). It took me over 18 months to complete but I am really proud of the fact that, for a change, I managed to remain focused enough to get so many miniatures created. 

Click the Pix!

There were also four special weapons and four heavy weapons that are not pictured. For me, this is one of the things that I wanted to achieve as a 'bucket list' item... I have done what I have always said I wanted to and created a range of Space Dwarfs that were varied enough to create an army with... and they are available for others to enjoy as well.

In the last few months, things have tailed off a bit so I had the space to knock up an "emergency" miniature for the Frothers Unite UK table at Salute and this led to starting up contact with "Dear Tony Blair" miniatures; with the initial stages being a miniature sculpt and a small conversion kit... with a second miniature as a WIP. I am hoping that I am able to create the caricatures well enough for them to be included in the range but we'll just have to see how things go.

During this year, I have also tried (and failed) to come up with some suitable vehicle designs for my army. The good thing is that, with each failure, I am getting closer to what I want... so it is positive (in a way).

My Megaro Zamac collection is now complete! I have all of the old '80s kits from the range and they have been safely stored away for when I need them. They were always a 'retirement' project so it's just a case of deciding when to retire.

More mecha madness arrived with a bunch of Votoms, Dougram and Macross kits joining the household. These will eventually become a group of Space Dwarf mechs but I have been too caught up in sculpting to get a proper start on them.

Chaos reared its ugly head this year, with the arrival of a small bunch of Chaos conversions for the blood God; Khorne. Not something I'd usually do but I felt an itch and I scratched it.

Other hobby stuff came and went but never really got a foot hold... but the main thing that has been going on has been lots of sleepless nights, mulling over different design ideas for various little projects and that means that next year could be quite exciting.

Life.

Family and friends have been exceptionally important. Without them and their tolerance, I don't know how I would have got through the year...

Anyway... to cut a long story short... due to me being at home a lot more than I am used to, I have needed things to keep me on track. I got quite into "Twitch" and also "Stream Raiders" (a game linked to Twitch) and they were very handy time-soaks for when I couldn't do what I wanted to. Add to that, Poppy and I reckon that, outside hobby time and chores, my days have been pretty full.

Click the Pic!

Sadly, I haven't been able to get out very much, on my motorbike but when I have been able to, I have really enjoyed it. Luckily, it still runs and is recently serviced and MOTd so it is just a case of having the right mojo to ride. It still looks gorgeous as well.

2022... Hobby stuff.

Without going too into things, I hope to continue working with Macrocosm Miniatures with occasional sculpts to add to the Space Dwarf range. I also hope to 'get my foot in the door' with Dear Tony Blair and sculpt a few more caricatures for them. I quite enjoy a bit of caricature sculpting so I am hoping that I can reach the required standard (can the little people be recognised for who they are supposed to be?). On top of that, I am hoping (as I do every year) to design some modular vehicles that cater to Space Dwarf units but, as history will tell, this is just a hope, not a certainty... However the main focus in 2022 will be...

The year of the beast

... so keep an eye out for updates.

2022... Life.

I hope that things improve around the world in 2022. I also plan to get to grips with my Long COVID and bother the doctors to find out A) what is damaged and B) what can be done to improve my symptoms. This will be done early in the new year and will be essential to me getting back to work. It'll be frustrating but it has to be done. 

That's about it. I hope I haven't been too miserable because this has taken three goes to write (even I was getting miserable with the last two goes). 

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year and hope that next year will be a shit-ton better than 2021 has been.

Take care.

See you from the gate... but DON'T approach, I've thrown a grenade in there... we don't want a repeat of all that nonsense...

What a year 2020 was.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World. I'm sorry that we are in the confines of a bunker but after the year we've all had, I felt that a bunker would be the best place.

So... 2020.

I'll start with the inevitable COVID bleating. It's been tough for us all. Everyone has been touched by the repercussions, lock-downs and restrictions that have rocked the world. I'm not going to say too much more, other than reflect my hopes for a better year in 2021.

BREXIT. The UK is now alone again. I, along with everyone else here, am holding my breath to see how this will affect us. I predict quite a few stark realisations and some shortages of things (short term) that we are quite used to having. I was a remainer... but now we all just have to deal with the new order and get along with it, the best we can. We must all be positive and try to make the best of it.

Health. I went mad this year. I've been in therapy for a year and am finally getting back to being myself again. It was a journey but it was necessary. The only thing I will say is that, if you are feeling depressed or anxious and you are in the depths of something you can't control... talk to someone. It helps and may reset you. At the worst, it's a shared problem. At best, it could erase the problem and help you get back to a better place. 

Physically, my frozen shoulders have stopped hurting so much and I have recovered about 80% of the mobility in them so that is great news. 

Work has been wonderful but challenging. Dealing with the death of our residents has been hard but a privilge. Luckily, COVID wasn't a factor because we have worked really hard to keep it away from our setting... it was Dementia that did it... and with Dementia, there's no getting out alive. 2020 took a heavy toll on many residents who have been there for a long time.

In other areas of life, things have been up and down, with a few personal losses (family and friends) and some new friendships.

My hobby has been one of the things that has consistently helped me to both hide and achieve. The biggest news is that I am working with my friend Chris, at Macrocosm Miniatures, to create a range of Space Dwarfs... so far I have sculpted and converted about 20 miniatures and am continuing to sculpt more for the range. Chris has been creating Kickstarter projects for them and they are also available in his shop. From the beginning, this project has always been about me, creating an army for myself... with the added bonus that other people can buy the troops as well. As a result, in between the sculpting, I have been trying to paint a few as well... and I have plans for a company sized army but need to continue sculpting, in order to get the right miniatures to achieve it.

Here are a few images of what I have finished/started painting:

Click the Pix!

Here are a few of the latest sculpts:

Click the Pix!

In addition to the range of miniatures, I have also been trying to put a few things together for my other Squat army and have managed to convert and paint a few vehicles... some of which had been sat for ages, waiting for some love:

Click the Pix!

I've also managed to get hold of a few kits that I will probably share at some point... but needless to say, they are awesome!

My Bike is still awesome:

Click the Pic!

But my other one hasn't changed and is still waiting to be worked on... maybe 2021 may finally be the time to start on it.

What will 2021 hold for us all? Who knows... but I know that I'll be facing it with a saound mind and a little more positivity than last year. 

What do I have planned for my hobby? Well, I hope to continue building the range of Space Dwarfs and hopefully get some painting in, when my sculpting muse is away.

Finally, I wish everyone a better 2021 than 2020 and hope that you all get through, unscathed. Everything else is going to be a bonus.

See you from the beginning!

Mark... TIME!

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It's been a slow couple of weeks and it seems that most of the stuff I will be talking about, has been somewhat put on hold.

I've had the last week off as holiday but I am still staying at home and not going far. That said, last weekend marked my 28th wedding anniversary so we did have an evening away at a local, exclusive hotel and really enjoyed the peace, different environment and food/drink that we found there. The next day, we found out that one of our friends had died... and spent the rest of the day with other friends, sharing both a sense of shock and sadness...

This week has been spent drinking.

Helston had its Christmas light 'switch on' which was great, as was the burger and chips from one of the many vendors there. Helston always has a good show of lights and if you are in need of cheering up, during the festive season, the lights and the wonderful people of our town will certainly do their best to help.

On the switch on evening, I also learned of the sad passing of one of our care home's residents... toasts were drunk.

One day last week, it actually stopped raining for long enough to go out on my bike so I popped over to Coverack for a coffee and a look at the sea.

Click the Pix!

I also turned the VFR round in the garage and fired her up to make sure she still ticked over. Now I'll be able to see what the radiator damage is like and get around to getting some stripping down sorted.

In hobby news, the Leviathan has stopped, the Tauroxes have stopped, my army build has stopped and the only thing that has happened is that I bought a model kit and have been commission sculpting... so nothing to show off. On the plus side, the commissions are all Squat related so things should start making an appearance out there fairly soon, I reckon... watch this space for an announcement.

That's about it for now. Hopefully, this coming week should be a bit more positive because I have another week off and have a few plans on the social calendar. We live in hope, eh?

See you from the edge!

Echo...

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

I checked the dates and it's been nearly a month so I guess we have a bit to catch up on.

To start with, I've had my two weeks holiday (at home) and have spent a lot of the time drunk or under the influence... so I could have probably made more use of my holiday time but I think it was a case of having a decent blow out after a long period of no breaks so I am not bitter. The second week was with my wife so we spent some quality time, out and about but sadly, my lad couldn't make it so there was a bit of disappoinment there.

In the first week, I had my Trengrouse Trim and went from this:

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To a rather more shiny:

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As a result of the evening's takings, the sponsor money from work and the Go Fund Me page, I raised over £500. With a bit more wheeling and dealing (sale of sculpts and some reproduction rights), I have added a further £400 to the total and will top off the rest so that, together, we will provide a new Flexi-Porter chair for the care home I work in. All in all, a pretty successful little venture.

On the same day as the Trengrouse Trim, I bought a VFR750 that had been involved in a bit of a scrape:

Click the Pic!

Since the photo was taken, I have removed all of the fairings and seat cowl and have replaced the clutch/brake levers. I am in the process of replacing the right foot-brake but bolts are siezed and I need to drill things so it is waiting for a bit of enthusiasm. The aim of this little project is to build a streetfighter... so no fairing and a few modifications. All I need is some garage time... and I have some more holiday booked at the end of November so I should have some time for a bit of tinkering.

To change the subject, our visiting cat has been reunited with his owner so he won't be visiting any more... and our kitten (Alfie) has now been neutered so he is free to go out into the big world and get upto whatever shenanigans he wants to.

On to hobby stuff... to start with, I have been busy building the four proxy Taurox vehicles and they are just waiting for some plastic mesh (ordered) and they will be ready for paint. All the wheels have been base coated separately but here is where the vehicles are, at the moment:

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As you can see, they aren't a copy of the original design but more of a Stug with transport space. As soon as the mesh is attached to the rooves of these, they'll get sprayed up.

I mentioned earlier that I had sold some bits and bobs. The first thing to go was reproduction rights for these (already sold for personal use without rights to sell them): 

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I may have some interesting news about what happened to these, in a later blog post. In addition to that, I have sold my two competition sculpts:

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They were sent off today and I should also have some interesting information about these at a later date.

Well... I'm back at work again and life is returning to normal, after a small bout of illness so I reckon we can leave things here.

See you from the garage!