Sunday...a day of much hobby action...

I have had quite a busy hobby weekend and have managed to get on with quite a lot of one thing and another. First of all, I have managed to wash and start the plates on my Carnifex:

Click the Pic!

The Carnifex will need a little bit of extra work because the wash pooled in so many areas that I need to cover things up a bit. As a result, I am using some Tau Sept Ochre to base paint all of the plates instead of just going straight for the Bubonic Brown. I can't see it making too much difference in the overall scheme of things but it will end up looking tidier than if I didn't add the extra paint layer.

On a further Tyranid note, I have been busy removing Rippers from bases and cleaning them up. The Rippers in question were from E-bay and I now have another 31 plastic and 5 metal ones to fill another 10 bases. I still have 15 more to clean but I have really made a dent in them. I've also started the base preparation for the ones I have already painted. I have the magnets and the bases 'hole punched' I just need to get some Araldite to glue things together then I will be set.

On a completely different note, I was in 'Allworths' (it is where Woolworths used to be) and saw some very cheap 'Connect 4' games. I bought four and will be going back for another four at a later date...why? Because the counters will make excellent tank wheels for my APCs (I just can't bear to cut up bits of dowel for so many wheels) and the game boards will make excellent chassis components for...something else...

Keeping on the 'completely different note' theme, I recently received a parcel from Pig Iron Productions that contained a bumper pack of head sprues. I wasn't planning on doing anything with them just yet...but one thing led to another AND:

Click the Pic!

These are Grymn (from Hasslefree Miniatures) with the inner guard heads from the sprues. The pic shows 5 that are currently waiting for conversion to be finished and 4 that are already finished. All I have done for the conversions is to chop off heads from the grymn, chop off heads from the sprues, pin one to another and then build up a 'hump' on the backs to bulk the Grymn up a bit.

I am thinking that these look like tunnel fighters so I put little lights on the side of their helmets. It is good to be back in the Grymn thing again.

Well, that's it for now! Enjoy the rest of the day.

See you through the nostalgia!

A brief intake of breath.

I have started to paint the finished Carnifex. I have so far undercoated and base painted the whole thing Bubonic Brown, ready for applying the washes and it has taken AGES!!! I really wish I had an airbrush...ho-hum...something that I will eventually get.

I have also had a little success on E-bay and have won a couple of lots of Rippers...I have 16 so far and another 25 on the way so that makes another 10 bases worth. Once I have them all together, I'll put them on their cardboard painting strips and off I'll go...again.

Unfortunately, I haven't been so lucky with a cheap Carfnifex...so I'll have to be patient if I am ever to start building my Hive Queen / Tervigon...I have plenty to be getting on with while I wait.

Anyone going to Salute this year? If you do, it looks like I may be hanging around the Hasslefree Miniatures stand...AND I was invited too! Maybe I'll see you there.

See you through the throng!

Little and ...rarely...

Well, it is Sunday and that means it is update day.

What have I got for you today? Just a couple of things...

First up, do you remember that I ordered a turreted APC from Fenris Games? Do you also remember me saying that I was unlikely to use the turret? Well, I decided that the turret made a great little scout vehicle for 28mm Grymn or a main tank for 15mm...here's my Grymn adaptation (Grymn only shown for scale):

Click the Pic!

All I have done is add a skirt using Milliput (leaving lots of fingerprints to make it look like cloth), some bags and a door. I also replaced the main gun with a small HMG from the Grymn range of accessories from Hasslefree Miniatures. The tarnished effect on the paint came as a result of laziness. Befor I started working on the turret, I forgot to wash the resin. I realised that there was relaese agent all over it when I had finished the converting and also that I couldn't wash it because of all the Green Stuff...I may have washed it off. I decided to use a spirit based varnish to coat the vehicle and this would effectively de-grease it. It was taking a while to dry so I painted on to the tacky varnish...hence, dodgy paint-job. I know it could use a few markings but I did the thing as a 'see what you can do' sort of thing rather than anything specific...so it may or may not get markings.

To Keep the Tyranid theme going, I have assembled the rest of the box of Gargoyles to the same standard. I currently have ten Gargoyles with no weapon arms fitted. I need to make twenty talons for the arms and to be honest, I haven't had the enthusiasm for it...so I did a little more work on the Carnifex and left the Gargoyles to it:

Click the Pic!

The Carnifex now has a scythed tail and both pairs of arms finished. I still need to do a bit of filling on his carapace but he is nearly there.

On to other things...my hobby at the moment.

As a result of the change of job, odd shift patterns, extended working periods and general 'LIFE GETTING IN THE WAY', my hobby has taken a lot of a back seat recently. This is likely to continue for a good month or so while I come to terms with all of the new demands that have been placed on me. As a result, updates will be sparse and they may also be quite random in subject. The reason for this is that I need to keep things interesting or I quickly lose interest because I am so fatigued at the moment.

At the moment it is pointless asking whether 'this project' or 'that project' is getting worked on or nearer to completion because what I post will be all I am doing. Things I am hoping to finish (in no particular order) are:

1. Desert Tyranids.
2. Urban Grymn.
3. Desert Veteran Grymn (including Cavalry).
4. 15mm Space Dwarfs.
5. Vulkan Battlesuit platoon (part of the Urban Grymn army).

These are my PRIMARY completion targets (I have so much other stuff that it defies description!) and if I get bored with one, I will work on another...unless I get the muse to try something in between.

Please don't ask how I am getting on with stuff as it just puts me off and I end up working on something different. It isn't me being awkward or anything, it is just the muse being cruel...she is, after all, a very cruel mistress!

So...there it is. I am working hard, enjoying the challenge and trying to squeeze the hobby in where I can.

See you through the gas curtains...the air is yellow and smells of almonds...

Is it the weekend yet!?

I can't wait until tomorrow evening...I am absolutely tired out. Not a lot of sleep, a very busy day shift and having a very steep learning curve has both kept me on my toes and made me shattered in equal measure.

I am loving it :).

It has so far been a huge change to what I have been used to and getting used to shifts has thrown my body clock right out but the new challenges have fired up parts of my brain that I had forgotten I had.

So...lots of work, not a lot of sleep and getting home completely wired has meant that painting and sculpting has been completely blown out of the water. All I have managed to do this week so far is partially glue 2 Gargoyles together...nothing more except for lots of thinking about stuff to do.

So why bother posting? Well I noticed today that I have two new followers. Welcome to The Mighty Flip and Matt; I hope that you enjoy your stay and maybe get a little inspiration from my blog.

Well, that's it for now.

See you through the back of my eyelids!

Whew! What a week!

It has been a hectic week and next week looks to be more of the same. I am really enjoying work at the moment and the shifts are flying by. I am running a shift so I am kept busy all the time and this coming week will be a day shift...so lots and lots of flying and lots of things to fix!

Excellent!

Sooo...what have I been doing with myself? Well I went to a Games Workshop yesterday and spent my Christmas vouchers. Like I have already said, I don't plan on spending cash with GW but I can't really do much else with vouchers, can I? I'm not throwing them away (especially as they were Christmas gifts).

With my current Tyranid frenzy in full flow, I decided to buy the new Codex (for reading material) and a box of the new plastic Gargoyles. I will need to change the fleshborers for claws but apart from that, they are very nice little minis.

Whilst reading the Codex, I found an interesting beast that would fit in with my Hive Queen idea; the Tervigon. It is a Carnifex with a brood chamber that spits out Termagants during a game...perfect :).

I have managed to pull my socks up and finish off my little Rippers:

Click the Pic!

As with all of my Tyranids, they still need bases but they are done apart from that.

Speaking of bases, I have just ordered a bunch of magnets from Hasslefree Miniatures and when they arrive, I will be basing up all of the Rippers...so until then I guess I'll be working on my Carnifex and Gargoyles.

I think that is about it for now...

See you through the green.

AMAZING!

I got back to my home after working a late shift tonight and...

...

ROCKY was in his cat kennel!

...

He is finally using the little house I built for him and I am very pleased :).

Right...back to your business...there's nothing to see here.

See you through yet another snow flurry!

Another one bites the dust!

Another quick update...the Warriors are finished except for the bases:

Click the Pic!

...and my Fenris APC turned up today as well but I'll worry that one tomorrow as I am due to go to work again soon...

...shift work is a strange beast.

See you through the murky conditions!