News from the front.

 Hello again. Welcome to Inso's World.

Keeping the boring stuff short... I still have long Covid... it is still causing me issues and preventing me from returning to work... I am fed up of it and want it to end but it is just a matter of patience.

As I've mentioned before, I am still able to get things done so I have been spending most of my time geeking-out on the internet, sculpting and doing a few chores. I am trying to get out for walks on a regular basis but they are a mixed bag and can be quite a struggle.

There is one thing that I have found, that has been really important to me and that is Twitch. Twitch (if you didn't know) is an on-line, game-streaming site that has a chat function so you can communicate with the live streamer. Being stuck at home on my own a lot is a lonely business but Twitch has enabled me to make friends with people all over the world and has also filled the void of not having people around all the time... so if you are feeling lonely or just fancy watching some video games, I'd recommend it.

Link to Twitch: TWITCH

Now let's get on to the sculpting side of things. 

The last Kick-Starter for my sculpts (plus a couple of others) was run over the last few weeks and has now finished. It ended up doing pretty well and can be viewed here:

Link to Kick-Starter: Kick-Starter

Seeing as sitting on my arse is something I can do, I have managed to get a lot of sculpting done, over the last couple of months. It started with the Standard Bearer that I showed off in my last blog post and moved on from there... 

The first couple of sculpts to be finished were a Trooper with Heavy Flamer and a Lasgunner:

Click the Pix!

I wanted the Trooper with Heavy Flamer to look cheerful and the Lasgunner to look bored or reflective and I think they worked out okay. The next couple of sculpts were a pair of Medics:

Click the Pix!

The idea behind the two Medics was that they carried pistols to defend themselves and those under their care and also enable them to carry more kit. One of them has taken this to an excessive level and the other is more able to dash about and is signalling to a wounded Trooper to "stay where you are and take cover" so that he has extra time to get to him. 

Following on from these two, I sculpted a Trooper, throwing a grenade:

Click the Pic!

This sculpt was a direct response to forum feedback. Someone suggested that I should make a Trooper throwing a Grenade and a few people agreed... so I sculpted one. You will also notice a Heavy Weapon Trooper in the above image. He is one of the original ones that I sculpted a while ago but he is carrying a newly built weapon; an Auto-Cannon. I needed to finish the Auto-Cannon so that all of the Codex Heavy Weapon options were covered (along with the Heavy Flamer Trooper). After this, I noticed that I only needed one more Lasgunner pose to complete the Lasgunner poses on my list so I converted one at "high-port-arms":

Click the Pic!

Once the last of the Lasgunners were finished, I packed up the little group and sent them off for casting/production to Macrocosm Miniatures...

Click the Pic!

After sending off the miniatures, it was time to take stock and see what was left... and it turned out that I have 14 sculpts/conversions to finish for the basic list I have prepared. These are:

1x Colonel

1x Captain

3x Comms conversions 

9x Lasgunner conversions

Once I receive casts of my latest batch of sculpts, I will have all of the bodies needed for the remaining conversions (including a few that are on my workbench) and then I can take a pause before embarking on the next wave of miniatures (a Close Combat Squad, Engineseer, Servitors and Advisors) but I haven't drawn up a list yet so that I remain focussed on the current project. 

As it stands, I am working on a Captain for now and will be putting new heads on a bunch of Lasgunners while working on the Colonel. During this process I will be deciding which additional Lasgunners will get a Comms Set... so there is still a bit of work to be done.

PHEW! 

In other news, I have bought another box of Kastelan Robots to play about with and will be converting them into smaller, engineering suits... Not to mention there has been some work going on with some mecha... but that will be for another time.

In the meantime...

Click the Pic!

Stay safe, follow the Covid restrictions and look after the ones you love.

See you from the front line!

Father Nurgle's Gift

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

What can I tell you? Well, first up, I finished sculpting my Space Dwarf, Standard Bearer:

Click the Pix!

As you can see, he's just a little bit larger than his brothers (by design) and wears slightly different armour that helps him to stand out as a champion who is worthy of holding the company standard. The banner topper is about 10mm tall and is supposed to depict a Dwarf version of Thor, sculpted in a 'rustic' style.

The Standard Bearer will be sent off for casting when I have finished a few other sculpts... speaking of sculpts...

I currently have five miniatures on the corks; a Medic, Heavy Flamer, Lasgunner, Captain and Colonel. My focus is on the first three because they have the same boots, armour and webbing pattern. I'll get their bodies finished and then move on to do the same with the officers. Once that is done, I'll go back to the first three and finish them before I finish the officers. Once they are all finished, they'll get sent off to Macrocosm Miniatures, with the Standard Bearer, for casting up.

Speaking of Macrocosm Miniatures, the recent Kickstarter has successfully completed. I am very happy that Chris has done so well on the Kickstarter and also that so many people are happy to buy my work. It certainly helps with motivation for sculpting.

So far, I have provided 21 miniatures (including the Standard Bearer) for the range (this includes full sculpts and head-swaps), with another 15 or so, on the list so I still need to maintain my focus and keep churning them out!

So... life.

I can say with certainty that COVID-19 sucks. I have had it for three weeks and I have had breathing issues, troubles with dizziness/feeling faint and a general lack of energy. LUCKILY, I haven't been bad enough for a hospital trip so it could have been much worse but it has really affected me being able to move about. Sitting down is fine... it's the moving that is the bother.

This week I went to the funeral of my mother-in-law. It was a lovely little service and she was laid to rest with dignity and care. It was strange that only a few people were allowed to the service and that we couldn't gather together, afterwards but at least everything went without a hitch. I drove to the town (about 6 hours driving, each way) and was fine... up until I had to walk anywhere... that was a struggle and I nearly passed out on one occasion. It took an age to recover from even the shortest of walks... but at least I managed to get my wife and daughter to the funeral so that we could all pay our respects. That was the only time I've left my house since Jan 16th... and I'm off to the doctors tomorrow so that'll be a nice trip out...

Anyway...

I'm still here, I'm still sculpting and I'm still happy so it isn't all doom and gloom.

See you from the manufactorium!

A new year...

 So here we are again... welcome to Inso's World.

I just thought that I'd share a bit of news. Not only have the 2 Sgts and 3 Junior Officers been sent off for casting:

Click the Pic!

... but Macrocosm Miniatures are currently running a new Kickstarter for a bunch of my sculpts:

Macrocosm Kickstarter Link

The mortars aren't my work and I think there's an odd head or two that aren't mine either... but it's a great way to add a few troopers to your Space Dwarf army.

Over the next few weeks/months, I will be working on a Standard Bearer, Heavy Flamer Trooper, Medic and 2 Senior Officers... and after that, a bunch of Lasgunners and additional Comms Troopers... but I am focusing on the first batch for now.

In other news, I am isolating because I have got COVID-19 at the moment, with a mild cough so I am hoping that I can get things done and not get particularly sick... fingers crossed, eh?

See you from behind the mask!