The ECO warrior returns

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week I have been away on another course (Energy Management) and have learned all sorts of interesting things like:

• LED lightbulbs are super efficient, don't contain the harmful materials that other bulbs do and also save you money (they use less than 5% of a traditional bulb). The light is very bright and white (so takes getting used to) but is instantaneous and really quite good for painting lamps.
• Methane is much worse for the environment than carbon dioxide.
• In Argentina, they tap cows for methane... yes, they actually stick a pipe in the side of cows and tap the methane which prevents it entering the atmosphere and enables it to be used for energy production... see the video below if you don't believe me.
• Disturbing a bat roost can cost you upto £5,000 per bat.
• If you polute, there is a rule that says 'the poluter pays'... and that can be an unlimited fine and years in prison if it is suitably bad.

I also learned lots of other stuff... but the whole 'cow back-pack' thing was just mad... even before you consider the ethics behind it:

So... apart from the course, I have been ticking along with my Ghar suits and have now got this far with three of them:

Click the Pic!

The one on the left has been roughly basecoated and needs tidying up ready for a wash but the other two are finished apart from the bases (although I am thinking of adding some markings). To continue with the Ghar theme, I have bought another little box of three, this time with ranged weapons. I am thinking that I will assemble little units of four suits which will be arranged like this:

• Leader - Assault suit (as shown above)
• Trooper - Battle suit (claw and scourer gun)
• Trooper - Battle suit (claw and scourer gun)
• Trooper - Bomber suit (claw and bomber gun)

With that in mind, I now have the leaders for three squads and the three additional troopers needed to complete a single squad.

If I buy another two Bomber boxes, I will have 3 squads of four suits and I think that will make a nice little platoon sized unit. If I keep the platoons 'straight out of the box' I can assemble them fairly quickly and give myself the option of spending my converting time on a couple of command units.

So... that is what I think about the mecha-suit side of the Ghar army... what about the troops? Well, I don't want the troops to be a major part of the force so I don't plan on getting very many of them, however... I have been thinking that the Ghar miniatures are a bit naff and I don't like the fact that they are bi-pedal... because it really casts doubt on why a race of bipedal creatures would opt for such a difficult, tri-pedal option for thier battlesuits. As a result, I am thinking that a more alien approach to the troops is in order; particularly Cephalapods like THESE. I haven't decided on which miniatures to use but they will need to be small and the Black Hat ones could be a good choice.

So... there you have it. What other hobby stuff has been going on? Well, I have been keeping an eye on my Squat transports and will be actively chasing components this week as I have been halted in my tracks by events of a logistical nature and I need to maintain some momentum or I run the risk of losing interest. I have also been sorting stuff out for selling on Ebay and I have a few bits and bobs that will be going up at 16:30hrs GMT today. Only two lots but worth a look later on:

EBAY LINK

There is much more to go... but little and often is the way forward.

Well, that about says everything for now.

See you from the platform overlooking the ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS!

Another change of direction.

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

This week has been fairly settled so I have had a small amount of time to get stuck into hobby things. As I mentioned, I am a bit stuck on the Squat APCs because I am still waiting for bits (namely the six mini turrets for each vehicle and then the main turrets for them all). Until I have them, I can't really finish the shape of the vehicles so I am loathe to start filling, just in case I attack an area that won't be visible (wasting my time). That means that the vehciles will be sat until I get my turrets. However, in the meantime, I have been asked about the size of the vehicles so here is a scale pic with a Squat and a Dark Eldar:

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With the forced lack of progress on the Squat transports, I turned my hobby gaze towards something else and decided that I'd have a look at the new Ghar kits I bought from the Overlord show. Each of the Ghar suits come on an individual sprue (three to a box) so I clipped the pieces off, spent a few minutes cleaning the pieces up and before I knew it, I had one assembled and primed:

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As you can see from the picture, it is nicely detailed and is very sharply cast. The following day, I got to grips with it and soon had a painted Ghar Assault suit (apart from the base):

Click the Pic!

I went for a nice, simple colour scheme that was dark and almost a little steam-punk with the colours. I have seen a few of these suits painted up by other painters and I think that darker colours suit these better than the white scheme that they are presented with by Warlord Games. Obviously, with the first one painted, I have had start another one and have got to the pre-wash stage:

Click the Pic!

I doubt if I will have it finished today because I have things to do... namely packing for another course this week... this time Introduction to Environmental Management. I am also doing a spot of redecorating in one of the rooms due to finding a large hole in the wall left by the builders when they fitted my shower (it was hidden behind a shelf unit). It was so long ago that I won't bother wasting my time trying to get the builders to fix it... they were contractors for my unit and are long gone. I am looking at it as an opportunity to have a go at decorating (something I haven't done for MANY years)... so it isn't all bad.

So this week will be a bit patchy but I hope to have at least some time to get on with something hobby related. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

See you from the crow's nest on HMS Great Britain!

Yo duuudes... I'm like 'eco-friendly' now.

Welcome to this week's blog post and to start off I'd like to say hi to Da Gobbo Grotto as they are the newest follower of Inso's World. I hope you find something of interest on your travels here.

So... another week and more travels... this time an 'Introduction to Environmental Protection' course. It was quite interesting (if a little dry in areas) but I now have an idea of what policy and practices are involved in the world of environmental protection.

As you will quickly gather, I haven't had much hobby time since I've been away from home for the week so unfortunately, I don't have any pix this week.

That said, the APCs are ticking along and I have been over to Overlord at Abingdon to the annual games show today so it isn't all negatvity.

Overlord is a relatively small wargaming show but it is always packed with tables, sellers and punters. I met up with some friends while I was there and bought a few items; including:

• A Ghar Assault Squad from Warlord Games
• A Panzerfaust Dwarf Command squad from Hysterical Games
• A Pair of otter hounds from Ainsty Castings
• A US GI dog handler from Parkfield Miniatures
• A breakfast for me and my wife!

It was great that my wife joined me for the first time ever at a wargaming event and she thought it was quite enjoyable. 

While I was there, I had a chat with Jon and Andy at Ainsty Castings and they are going to help me out with some nice turrets for my APCs... so that is brilliant.

It was a bit sad today because next year, I won't be going to the show because I will be down in Cornwall starting out my civvy life so I don't see me travelling up to visit.

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

See you from the park bench!

Production line fun.

These week has actually been quite interesting.

Sunday afternoon I travelled down to Aldershot for a Career Transition Workshop... a 3 day course that helps you with CV writing, interview techniques, provides you with pointers on career options and also gives you time with a career counseller to help you try to make sense of what the heck you want out of a civvy career.

It was a great little course but it has raised more questions than it answered... but in a good way. I now have lots to think about.

Since I have been back at home, the remaining wheels for my APCs turned up and the whole business of getting some flesh on bones began. First, All the wheels were fitted and the basic frame was made:

Click the Pic!

What I didn't say when I posted the above pic, is that all of the basic frames are upside-down, drying so pretty soon, they turned into this:

Click the Pic!

From that pic, you'd think that I was taking a pretty standard approach to a wheeled APC... but I think that the next pictures will show that these are not going to be the normal style of APC:

Click the Pic!

As you can see, they have changed into something more like an armoured truck. They are all at the same point in construction so far (the cab is still loose as it needs to be worked on before being glued down). Here is a single one from different angles:

Click the Pic!

The cut-out behind the cab is where the escape hatch will be. I am going to put exhast ducts behind the cab and then the passenger cabin behind that. The rear part of the vehicle is likely to change quite a bit so don't be surprised when the finished product doesn't look anything like it does now.

So... what next? 

• Tidy up the cab and glue it down.
• Decide how to build the exhaust manifolds/vents.
• Order 30 small turrets.
• Order some hatches.
• Order some more 1mm thick plasticard.
• Continue with the build.

The vehicle will have a flamethrower at the front and a turret on the top. I also plan to fit 6 turrets to each one to act as the crew controlled lasguns that a Chimera has. 

Well... after almost an entire weekend hunched over a table, cutting and gluing plastic together, I think I've earned a rest!

A bit later, I'll get shopping for bits and bobs.

This coming week, I am away on another course... an introduction to environmental protection... so I will be kept busy and will no doubt crack on with my little APCs at the weekend (if I am not too distracted by other things).

Well that's about it for today.

See you from the out-house!

An early post.

Hello again! Yes, I know it's not Sunday but I will be busy tomorrow so I thought I'd post today.

This week has been interesting. My insomnia has blown my mind and I had to resort to a sleeping tablet... but one of the things that insomnia is good for is feeding the idea stream and it made me look further towards transports... which led me to buy a load of wheels... and some beams and axles and some of them arrived... and turned into these:

Click the Pic!

As you can see from the picture, I have brought shame on myself by using ACTUAL Lego components for a conversion (or five). You will also notice that I am still waiting for 8 wheels to arrive from Ebay. The idea is that these wheeled chassis units will be grafted to vehicles reminiscent of the Khurasan Lion Attack Transports that were shown last week. As I may have mentioned, I don't want to directly copy them but these vehicles will be heavily inspired by them.

In other hobby news, the Squat Sgt got some paint:

Click the Pic!

... and five members of her squad got started:

Click the Pic!

You will notice that, unlike the Sgt, the girls have the start of sculpted arms. I tried to use the plastic arms but they just looked rubbish on the troops with rifles so I have been forced to sculpt my own again. It's a shame... but I could see no other way of doing it.

Finally... I am spending a few days away on a course so that is why I am writing my blog post today.

See you from the dock of the bay; watching the tide rollin' in!

Of Robots and Squats.

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

This week has been a bit topsy turvy but, for a change, apart from my missus getting poorly for a day, I have had quite a reasonable week.

So... this really caught my attention this week:

I love the way it can go anywhere, has no suspension or steering mechanism (it skid steers and has squishy tyres to take the bumps out of the road) and with a little bit of thought would make a truly excellent vehicle to be used on a swamp planet. Seeing as my Squats are from a swamp army, it got me thinking.

As did this:

Click the Pic!

I love these vehicles (not mine, they are from Khurasan Miniatures and the ones pictured can be seen, along with other great 15mm stuff, at The Angry Lurker Blog) because they are different and they could also be amphibious, just like the SHERP in the video (just a bit slower and better armoured).

So... with that in mind... I have visited EBay and bought a load of wheels... and yes, this could be the start of yet another unfinished project!

In other news, I decided that I would finally succumb to the voices and buy some female heads (LINK LINK) from Statuesque Miniatures. I decided to choose the heroic scale ones because they are designed for GW sized miniatures. Luckily I did because I ended up padding out the cheeks of my first trial run:

Click the Pic!

I thought that, seeing as it is a fairly common thought that you can't tell a male from a female Squat, I would use the standard bodies and arms but just swap the head... hopefully, it has worked (even though the head is still just slightly on the small size). The Sgt in the picture is now base-coated and waiting for her wash before highlighting. She is going to be the Sgt in a veteran squad of lady Squats... once she is painted, I'll show her off. Keeping Statuesque Miniatures in mind, I decided to get some Fembots to join Tiny and the gang. They are truly wonderful miniatures and everything that got delivered was exceptionally well cast... 

... did I mention Tiny?...

I have also got a little further on him this week. He now has the start of his face:

Click the Pic!

Well... I think that about sums up this week's activity on the hobby front...

Oh, don't forget that I have some stuff finishing today on Ebay:

EBAY LINK

See you from the workshop!

What a week!

I am going to start this week's blog post with a picture:

Click the Pic!

On the left is a very proud dad (me) and on the right is his son who has just passed out from basic training for the Royal Air Force.

It all happened on Tuesday at RAF Halton and was a whole day of waiting for a parade, and watching it. The parade went really well and the flypast was by a Puma from RAF Benson's 230 Sqadron (my old Squadron, ironically). The picture above also has a lot of history behind it. When I was in training, Block 16 was my home for two and a half years. A few years after I left, the Apprenticeship system was stopped and a few more years later, basic training was moved to Halton. In the period from then onwards, the block got its 'Puma' name. My son also spent time in this block during basic training... more coincidence.

When I left Halton, I started my RAF career at Odiham, working on Pumas... and over my career, I have worked on Pumas for over 15 years (on and off) so to find out that my old block had the Puma name really made me smile. 

I view this picture as a handover... as you know, I am leaving the Royal Air Force soon and I am handing over to my son who is just starting out.

So... that was Tuesday. On Thursday I went out for a fantastic meal with my workmates at my boss's house and we had a great evening of fine dining and partaking of a few drinks... so with everything that has been going on, you would have thought that I didn't have any time for the hobby...

... but in another shift of direction, I started work on Tiny. Who's Tiny? Well... this will be (when he's finished):

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

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For some reason, I decided to make a robot that was inspired by Mongrol from the 2000 AD comic 'ABC Warriors'. I certainly don't want to replicate him and this isn't going to be a direct copy but I hope to get some of the design cues in there. I think he is going OK so far. I have used the legs off a GW dreadnought, some parts from a 1/100 Armoured Valkyrie and a wooden doll's head (plus plasticard and green stuff). The arms will look similar to this when he is finished:

Click the Pic!

In other news, I have bought a 1/48 scale Airfix kit of a Coyote vehicle so that may get used for parts for an APC later. I have also put up a bunch of model kits for sale (after 16:30hrs today, although there is one in there already...) on EBay so a bit later on, have a look. There may be something of interest:

EBAY LINK.

I think that is about it for now. 

See you from the stands at the pass-out parade!