...a few days late but...

I know I should have posted a few pix a few days ago but I have been busy with...enjoying life, actually. Tuesday night I finished Operation Cat Safe, Wednesday night I put it outside...but didn't have any battery life in my camera to take pix of it (it was also dark...so it wouldn't have been easy to photograph anyway), Thursday night me and my better half went to a beer call and Friday...I just couldn't be bothered because I was very tired (I'm not sleeping again).

...so without further ado, here's the very small project I was working on:

Click the Pic! (it'll be easier to read)

Next up, here is the little miscreant who, only yesterday decided to claw my glasses off (again) and leave me bloodied. He is called Rocky and is the reason for Operation Cat Safe:

Do you want to read this? Click the Pic!

Next up is the little abode I knocked together for him:

Do you want to read this? Click the Pic!

I could have done it differently but I wanted to get some shelter done quickly so I cut a LOT of corners. As you can see from the pix, Rocky is getting used to it.

Apart from Edgar the Santa, I have recently purchased a Hurn (from Heresy Miniatures) and he is on my painting table getting a work over. I wasn't going to start painting it but it was one of those miniatures that demanded attention...so I just had to. I will have some pix of him tomorrow when I put up the Sunday update.

On to other news....I am on my Christmas Holiday! I am happy and I have three weeks of time at home...that means plenty of time for family, friends and of course; my hobby.

Well...that's about it for today. Check out the links on the right of the blog for Heresy Miniatures so that you can see for yourself how good the Hurn really is.

See you through the mud and the blood and the beer (quoting the late and truly great, Johnny Cash).

Sunday

well, I'd like to say I had something wonderful to show you tonight but I haven't. That doesn't mean that I haven't achieved anything...because I have and it is currently sat in the kitchen, on a bin-bag drying.

Yes...Operation Cat Safe is nearing completion. I have one more coat of varnish to go on it and a bit of polythene and it will be finished. I worked on it for a few evenings last week and again yesterday to finish the woodwork...today has been a varnishing day.

I have got a nice cushion to go inside it and then it will be a case of hoping that our stray cat, Rocky, will actually use it.

As soon as it is dry and fitted out, I will post some pix.

It's going to be a Grymn, Grymn, Christmas this year. I have a host of them on the go; including a rather special one that will be shown off once he is finished. I can't see it taking very long as I am in the right sort of mood to get it finished quickly.

With all the work on Operation Cat Safe, I have had no time for tanks...but they are on my list and I am literally, chomping at the bit to start chopping up doweling for the wheels.

What other news do I have?...A change of job.

As of the 4th Jan 2010, I will be back to working on aircraft again and I will also be starting shift work for the first time since I went to Iraq a year or so ago. I am extremely happy about the change as my current job was really getting me down. Good things come to those who wait I guess.

So...in a day or so, I'll post a few pix. Until then...

See you through the joy!

Tuesday Shenanigans.

Welcome to our newest follower 'The Worker'! I hope you find something of interest in my world. Things have been a bit slow lately but they are picking up again...especially with the promise of time off over the festive period.

I have been busy over the last few days putting together the supplies for my latest UBER-PROJECT. What is it? Operation Cat Safe! Seeing as our stray cat can't come into the house and doesn't want to go near the cat carrier for transporting to the cat rescue centre, I have gathered together a bunch of wood and tools and will be building him a shelter in our outside porch area. It will be done in my usual style...no plans and a lot of trimming as I go! But it will be a better propostition than sleeping in the rain (especially when we fill it with blankets and stuff).

While I was out, I also bought some larger diameter dowelling rod for my tank wheels...along with a tenon saw and mitre block to make sure I cut the wheels nice and square...can't be bad, can it?

I'm also looking towards getting my Honda motorcycle back from storage over the next few weeks...it will not be a happy time as it was stuck in a garage in a rush, with no preparation for storage...I am fearing the worst :(...luckily my newest neighbour has a bike trailer so I won't have to worry about riding the bike to my new address.

What is cool about Christmas? Satsumas! Cheap, cheerful, good for you and full of vitamin C...oh...they also taste good and keep you regular!

Yep...things are looking more and more interesting at the moment :).

See you through the rosey glow!

3, 2, 1...We're Back in the Room.

It is Sunday again and this week I have a little more to go on about.

It would appear that my Bronchitis is having minimal effect on me at the moment (although I still have a cough) and as a result, I am starting to get back to normal with things. I have even begun to get my attention span back so I have been able to focus for a small while...so good news!

Right, on with the blog :). I have recently been made aware of a brand new sci-fi and fantasy gaming magazine called The Ancible; see the picture:

Click the Pic!

I bought a subscription straight away (as support for an emerging magazine) and was not disappointed. The magazine has a lot of interesting stuff in it; including: games reviews, battle reports, interviews and all manner of new artwork and writing. I'll admit that some of the layout could be better and that some of the pictures are a bit 'rustic' but the guys over at the Ancible seem to be taking a lot of the critiques on board and will be adjusting the magazine as they go. If I could say one short sentence about how I felt about the magazine when I received it it would be this:

"It is a publication that harks back to the spirit of the games magazines I used to buy and has a 'by gamers, for gamers' feel to it, along with an independent content that has been lacking in print since the demise of Harbinger magazine".

All I will add is this:

GO TO THE SITE AND ORDER THE MAGAZINE...NOW!

For more information, see the link:

http://www.the-ancible.com/

On to other things...the final straw.

I have been buying Games Workshop (GW) products for years and especially White Dwarf magazine. Literally thousands of pounds have been spent on GW products. I have been buying their products for over 25 years (ever since the first Space Marine was released)...but no more.

Recently GW have been drawing a line in the sand. Children are the target audience now and all those who have supported the company for many years are no longer welcome. GW has become a business now, rather than a company run by gaming enthusiasts and that has meant that some of their recent behaviour has not sat too well with the gaming community as a whole.

I will leave you to go and find out about all of the cease and desist notices that have been flying around lately and all of the negative comments that have been generated by them...there are a lot of them out there, I can tell you.

What it all boils down to is this: all of the work the die hard supporters of GW have created over the years is no longer tolerated and will be removed by legal action. This includes sites that have been keeping the enthusiasm (and sales of GW products) alive for the games that GW have long stopped supporting...even back as far as the old Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd games!

That really is a smack in the chops for me and all those poor souls who have now been forced to remove years of hard work from their web-sites.

As a result of the disgust I feel at the moment, I will not be buying another White Dwarf, or any other product from a GW store again. The only concession I will make is paint (due to the fact that I always have an army on the go and need to keep continuity in the colours) and I will only be doing that until I have finished my current projects and can change paints to a different brand.

This is my choice and I will not encourage or disuade anyone from taking the same one...that is up to your own conscience.

Further to this, I will not be posting any more pictures, reviews or links to anything GW for fear of receiving a cease and desist notice of my own...and yes, it has got that stupid!

Good luck GW...the backlash is building steam.

...AAAAND...we're back again :).

I now have four, partially built, armoured vehicles:

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

Yes, they still need detailing and yes, they still need tracks but the fact that I have got this far means that I am back from the doldrums and am starting to be productive again. As for the tracks, I have got a couple of boxes of these:

Click the Pic!

...and some wooden dowelling to build tracks and wheels for the little armoured vehicles to travel around on. It will be a while before they are finished but I am fairly pleased with the way they have gone so far.

For information (probably again!) the two turreted APCs will be for the command and support sections of an infantry platoon, with the two un-turreted ones being for the two standard infantry squads.

I reckon that the Christmas holidays may involve cutting a lot of dowell for wheels and gluing together hundreds of individual track links!

...And now for something completely different.

As of this last week, I have been married to my lovely wife for 18 years. I can only say that I am exceptionally lucky to have found someone who completely understands how obsessed I am with the hobby (even though she niether enjoys it herself nor understands the point to it) and puts up with everything I throw at her all the time (including my job taking me away from home sometimes and putting me in harms way).

Soppy as it sounds, I have a soul mate and I appreciate her more and more every day.

See you through the rainbow!

Sunday again.

Another Sunday and yet another lack of anything of any substance to post.

I am still suffering from Bronchitis and my attention span is still so short that I can hardly concentrate long enough to tie my shoes, let alone do much towards my hobby. All I have done this week is half-build two tank turrets. I have also managed to base coat the armoured part of four Grymn troops.

That is it.

Not a lot is it?

I've also tidied up an army list...

Well...there you have it.

See you when I see you.

Tuesday.

I shouldn't be posting today because I should be at work...but thanks to Bronchitis, I have been told to go home for the week so it would appear that I have an opportunity to make use of.

I doubt very much if I'll be doing any hobby stuff because my focus is completely shot and as soon as I try to concentrate on anything...I wander off...so not a lot will be going on.

I did, however, notice that Inso's World has gained another follower so I am pleased to welcome CLAM to my humble Blog. Welcome CLAM, I hope you enjoy your stay and maybe find something to inspire you to works of genius!

Well, that's about it for today...

See you across the wobbly fields!

Sunday...Cut, Glue, Cut, Glue...

Something simple to fill the post today. I decided to just unwind a bit and do a bit of plasticard model making. I generally pick up a sheet, take a few measurements and go where the muse takes me. This time I wanted to make four identical APCs (well, as identical as can be had hand measuring and cutting). So far, I have got two to a stage where they are ready for tracks and detailing:

Click the Pic!

I want four identical hulls, two will be APCs that will carry 8 Grymn and a driver, the other two will have a small turret and carry 4 Grymn a driver and gunner. They will be a Platoon's worht of armoured vehicles, the APCs for the troops and the IFVs for the command and support sections.

I have purchased a set of tracks for the tanks (with more on the way) so I should have enough to finish 3, if not all of them.

So, there you have it. Cut, glue, cut, glue...helps keep Inso grounded :).

Well, it's only a short one today but I can be forgiven, can't I?

See you on the other side.