Showing posts with label Dwarf Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dwarf Project. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 August 2025

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...


Click the Pic!

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:


Click the Pic!

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:


Click the Pic!

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!

Thursday, 19 June 2025

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:


Click the Pic!

Next we have an Adventurer:


Click the Pic!

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:


Click the Pic!

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!

Sunday, 23 March 2025

Marching in to 2025.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It's been a couple of months but during that time, a lot has happened so I'll get straight to it.

Life-wise, I'm still volunteering with the Air Ambulance shop occasionally and I'm still working at the care-centre but in addition to caring for the clients, I have also been given the task of cooking their dinners and a bit of cleaning so things have ramped up, somewhat.

After nearly 2 years, I have made the decision to stop creating/delivering the bi-weekly quiz at my local pub. I've just run out of ideas and enthusiasm so I'm stepping aside for someone else to give it a go. This will have the effects of reducing my stress levels and giving me more time to do some stuff for me... which will be nice. You never know, I may even get some sleep occasionally!

Our goldfish passed away after 10 years of happy swimming... 

... and that's about it for normal stuff so it's on to hobby related things now.

So far this year, I have finished the Jungle Fighter project and have sent the sculpts off to Chris at Macrocosm Miniatures:


Click the Pic!

That's seven Jungle Fighters and one Alien predator. I expect these will be a Kickstarter at some point fairly soon.

While I was working on the Jungle Fighter project, I was also sculpting a couple of miniatures for the Bunny Badger / Frothers games at Salute this year. I was asked to sculpt a "fat Elon Musk in Homelander cosplay and Marvin the Martian" so I sculpted these:



Click the Pix!

They have since been sent off, painted and will appear on the gaming table at Salute 52, this year (12 Apr 2025).  

As well as these sculpts, I attempted to sculpt some Servitor robots for my Squat army but failed. I was hoping to add the Servitors to my other finished sculpts and send them off for casting but I decided to give up and send off what I had... so the two Astropaths, the Adventurer and the Mourning Diorama have all been sent off to Macrocosm Miniatures for casting. Hopefully, I'll get some casts soon.





Click the Pix!

Seeing as my sculpting muse has done a runner, I have been painting units for my Squat army for a change. So far, I have painted the second infantry squad for the third platoon and the heavy weapon squad for the same platoon. I am currently painting the command squad that will complete the platoon (one infantry squad was painted a while ago):




Click the Pix!

Once the command squad is painted, I only need to add two Astropaths and four Servitors to the army and it will be complete. Obviously, I need to get them delivered first so in the meantime, I will be painting up a few already started, spare miniatures to trial some stick-on, grass tufts, that I plan to use for the army... which is one of the reasons that I am going to Salute this year... so I can have a look at what's available and see what will be a nice colour to add to my army bases. I have a few other things to see while I'm there but that will be for my "post Salute" blog post.

That's about it for now.

See you from the hangar!

Monday, 30 December 2024

This is the end... of 2024!

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again... admittedly, after quite a break... but welcome, nonetheless!

Tomorrow is the last day of 2024 and as a lot of people do, I decided to have a look back over the year and see what has happened in my life.

To start on a miserable note, I have come to the conclusion that the long COVID I had for over a year has permanently affected my breathing. Plans to run marathons have been permanently put on hiatus until I decide to go and get things checked out by the professionals. Apart from that, another cracked rib and a few aches and pains (related to my age and past activities), I'm feeling pretty chipper. 

This coming January, marks the second year of not being in therapy so I'd say that my mental health is pretty good and I'm in a good place with regards to that side of things. I am finding that NOT watching the news every day and ignoring the things that I can't change has really helped me to chill out and I am a lot less stressed/frustrated with life... which is nice...

I've been working in an elderly care facility for almost six months and I am really enjoying it. It's a day centre for people to visit, be looked after and entertained and then go home at the end of the day. It is great fun and I am getting on well with the clients and my work mates. For me, it's a bit like getting paid to go and have fun at a social club (with a bit of care-work thrown in) so I can see myself staying there for the foreseeable future.

I have started a college course to do with "behaviour that challenges" and plan to do more care related courses when I finish it and when they become available.

I still volunteer at the local Cornwall Air Ambulance charity shop on some weekends... something I really wanted to keep up with, after getting my care job.

The two-weekly quiz that I run at my local pub is ticking along nicely still... it's been over a year now and I have a group of regulars who pop along... as well as the occasional newbies.

Family is good. Cats are good. Norrel (our gold fish) is weird but still going strong.

I have been out on my motorcycle less than five times this year... that needs to change.

I (we) haven't had a holiday away, since we moved to Cornwall (8 years ago)... that needs to change.

All in all, I'm ticking along nicely but need to get a few ducks in a row in order to start getting more back from life.

The hobby... is it though? Is it a hobby? Over this year, I haven't been as active with my hobby as the previous year. I haven't painted anything... and I've sculpted 8 miniatures for myself. Everything else has been for other parties. This coming year, my main goal is to finish my "commission" list and not accept any more until I have had the chance to do some hobby, rather than "work" at my hobby. I need to learn to be a bit selfish and work on finishing my Squat army. I do a lot and don't have time for finishing my own projects... and that sucks.

So... what have I managed to finish this year? This:

  • 4x Teletubbies, Noo-noo and a Tubby-Toast coin for the Frothers games at Salute 2024.
  • 2x Astropath (for my army)
  • Ukranian president for the Politicos range.
  • 1x Squat adventurer (personal sculpt... for no reason).
  • Chaos Squat (Predator) for Macrocosm Miniatures.
  • 2x Human snipers in ghillie suits for a US company.
  • Squat memorial diorama (personal project... for reasons).
  • 3x alien creatures to use up left over putty from other sculpts.
  • 4x Squat jungle troopers for Macrocosm Miniatures.
  • (Preemptively) 1x Superhero for the Frothers games at Salute 2025.
Some images:

Jungle fighters so far - Click the Pic!


The Teletubbies and Noo-noo (painted by Badgers) - Click the Pic!


My memorial diorama - Click the Pic!

In the next few months, I need to finish:
  • 3x Squat jungle troopers for Macrocosm Miniatures.
  • 1x Martian for the Frothers games at Salute 2025.
  • GET STUFF CAST UP AND IN MY ARMY!!!
It doesn't seem a lot but hopefully, I can get it finished and then I can get back to finishing my Squat army... which still needs some servitors to be sculpted... plus a few bits to be cast up and of course, everything that isn't painted, will need painting.

In other hobby news... I have got my ticket for Salute 2025. I am planning to use it and I am planning to meet a few friends who I haven't seen in a while; from the hobby community. Going to Salute is as far as any plans have got, apart from buying a ticket... so getting there, accommodation etc. is still required... but it's not for a few months yet... 

That's about it. 2024 hasn't been a bad year at all. It could have been better... but so could the weather! I'm looking forward to 2025 in much the same way as any other year... skeptical optimism. I hope that it's a s good a year as you or I deserve and hopefully the wheels don't fall off.

See you from the past... looking into the future!


Cheers! Have a Happy New Year!

Monday, 12 August 2024

Back in the system.

 Hello again and welcome to Inso's World. 

I have a bit of an announcement... after about two-and-a-half years away from paid work, I am finally employed again. I have a job at a local day-centre for elderly people and I've been there for just over a month. I am working part-time and can still volunteer at my local Air Ambulance shop so it's a win-win all round.

As a result of the rather abrupt change in my circumstances, I have not been as pro-active with my sculpting as I could have been... due to training, extra workload and trying to get into the rhythm of fitting work around other "life stuff"... but I'm starting to get back into the routine and expect to be sculpting more, very soon.

So... YAY! GO ME!

From a sculpting perspective, I have finished the mourning soldier diorama:


Click the Pic!

All I've done since last time is texture the top, sand the edges and make sure that the two soldiers have the right amount of contact. 

In other sculpting news, I have finished another critter:


Click the Pic!

It's the one on the right and it's called a Grinning Creeper. It is a peaceful creature that has a vegetarian diet but is feared due to it's creepy appearance. When confronted, it makes itself as large as possible and grins out of fear... this is often seen as a threat and many Grinning Creepers have been dispatched out of ignorance.

Finally, I have finished the first member of a hunting party for Macrocosm Miniatures... This one is the commander:


Click the Pic!

There are another six planned to join him and they are all in a state of being started, with feet but not much further than that. I am hoping that when I can start getting regular sleep and get back into the way of things, I can throw effort into the team and make better progress. I am also continuing with the "waste-putty" critters and have one that is WIP but I'll show it off once it's finished.

So... new job, getting used to things, a few finished sculpts and lots of WIP.

See you from the bottom of the ladder!

Sunday, 31 March 2024

A short spell of things.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again. It's Easter and the last post was around three months ago but frankly, it's been a bit "meh" since Christmas so I've not had much I wanted to post.

I was hoping to be a shop manager by now but that was on the table for eight days before "situations beyond our control" happened so it was deferred for at least 6 months. That means I have had to wait but I can't wait for ever... and I haven't got any idea what I'd like to do instead... so "meh"!

I had plans for sculpting a few more bits for the army but my sculpting mojo disappeared... so "meh"!

I had a long run of insomnia so I wasn't safe to go out on my bike... so "meh"!

I had a "health issue" that was linked to drinking grown up drinks... so I've practically been teetotal since the end of November... so "meh"!

... and then...

The Frothers Unite / Bunny Badger gamers for Salute, threw out a request and that started a bit of motivation which led to quite a lot of sculpting... and I'm still sculpting things as a result so it seems that things are looking up.

At least I have cats, eh?!

So... the sculpting. My friend Ben from Bunny Badger games put a request out for some Teletubbies (including Noo-noo) and I thought they would be a good thing to get my mojo back so I offered my help. There were a few specific requests (one needed to be holding a rabbit and one needed to be eating one) so I used a bit of poetic license and came up with these:


Click the Pic!

They were finished in good time and have already been painted up, ready for the gaming table at Salute 2024 (a massive gaming event in London  at the Excel Centre). I was also asked to make a token for the gamers to take away as a prize... so I made some Tubby Toast:


Click the Pic!

This was sent over to Jon at Ainsty Castings to replicate for the event. As a result of this little sculpting "change of direction" I decided to try working on an Astropath for the Dwarf project. I started with a clear idea of what I wanted... and then went with the flow; creating something completely different but perfect for what I wanted... so here's the Astropath:


Click the Pic!

I was aiming for a clean-cut version of a "Living Ancestor" but ended up with a feral "shaman" type of chap... which works fine for me.

As well as that, I finally finished a sculpt of the Ukrainian president for the Politicos range:


Click the Pic!

Sadly, it was one of those sculpts that was intimidating, due to having to get the likeness right... so it took far too long and in the end, was a reasonably passable version of Zelensky... not perfect but passable.

Then I got a request / commission for some themed miniatures from my friend at Macrocosm Miniatures, which I am keeping under my hat for now... but I've got a team of seven miniatures in mind, with six of them already on corks undergoing the very early stages of the sculpting process... ie, they all have feet!

While that has been happening, I started on a little personal project which I have called "my secret project"... and that is very nearly finished so will be appearing in the next post on here (whenever that may be) so it's a case of "watch this space".

Furthermore, I have made a decision on how to base my Epic Squats and have got some classic "strip" bases, rather than the square ones. I've started gluing the troops into them but haven't got any pix so far... so here's a reminder of where the were before I started gluing them onto their proper bases:




Click the Pix!

Hopefully, I'll have progress pix, next time...

Plans... plans... plans...

I still need to sculpt a few servitors and possibly a second Astropath... but that's all for the Dwarf army project. Then... whatever comes along, I guess...

See you from the big chair!

Saturday, 23 December 2023

The deep breath...

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World for the last post of the year.

This year has been a mixed bag... good health, bad health, achievements and procrastination... but over all, it's been a much more positive year than 2022 so it's not been so bad.

I'm still working at the Cornwall Air Ambulance shop as a volunteer and am still enjoying it. My wife is still happy with her job. My children are both happy and doing well. The cats are great, the fish is still swimming and the house is slowly getting better (with an almost finished, new kitchen). My motorbike is still running but hasn't been out much... and the hobby has been getting done (most of the time) so pretty positive stuff.

On the health side, I have realised that I have to accept that the long covid (2021-2022) has affected my lungs so when the cold weather turns up, I have to slow down a bit. Not a major thing but it's something I have to come to terms with. My plans to train for a marathon have fallen by the wayside but I still plan to complete a marathon in 2024... just a bit later in the year!

The hobby has mostly been successful but over the last couple of months I have stalled a bit... however, I think I've accomplished quite a lot so here's a list of what I've managed...

P = Paint

S = Sculpt

C = Converted

S - Squat Air Advisor

S - Diver

C - Leeloo (for the Frothers table @ Salute)

P - Squat First Platoon (CMD, HW and 2 Infantry Squads - 31 troops in total)

P - Diver


Click the Pic!

C + P - Squat "Santa" Beer Seer

C + P - Squat "Elf" Wine Witch

P - Squat "Thor"


Click the Pic!

P - Squat Air Advisor

P - Squat Artillery Advisor

P - Squat Second Platoon (CMD, HW and 2 Infantry Squads - 31 troops in total)

S - Kier Starmer (Commission)


Click the Pic!

I don't think that's too bad but there isn't as much sculpting as there could have been on the list... maybe 2024 will be better but after a good few years of sculpting pretty solidly, maybe it's time to keep things slow... who knows?

At the moment, I have a few things on the corks... namely five miniatures for the Frothers Salute table for 2024... one of them being this:

Click the Pic!

I also have a sculpt of the Ukranian president on the go (commission) and a few other bits and bobs but nothing firm apart from that.

I still need to sculpt some Servitors and an Astropath for the Squat Project but after that... "white noise"...

... in other news, I have been thinking a lot about Squat Bikes and Transports/Armour and a few "special" sculpts for the Squat Project that I started but need to rework. I'd also like to sculpt some plate-armoured Squats (Stormtroopers) but I am not set on designs so that will definitely be a bit "wait and see".

All that remains is to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope you have a safe journey from now and into the new year and find your own way to enjoy the end of the year and the start of the new one... whether it's your thing or not. 


Click the Pic!

See you from the dawn of a new year!

Saturday, 10 December 2022

Not quite Christmas...

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It's been a while so I thought I'd post a few little updates with regards to what is going on.

First, I'm back to working three mornings a week in the Air Ambulance shop and that has really helped me to land. I can safely say that I can't remember the last time I have felt so happy in my skin. I'm off to a Christmas lunch with my fellow volunteers a bit later today so that will be fun.

Storm has really grown. He's about four kilograms and isn't even seven months old yet! He's off to get neutered tomorrow and hopefully, that will rid him of his overtly sordid behaviour. He's awesome.

I have been sculpting and even painting a few miniatures, since I last posted so here's a bit of a catch-up.

First of all, the last group of miniatures that I showed on here, have been sent away, cast up and a bunch of casts were received:


Click the Pic!

I got sent four sets of each and am awaiting a further set to be cast up and sent to me. From these I was really keen to paint up a DJ for my friend who is a DJ called Bobby Bounce:


Click the Pic!

Not only is he a DJ but he is also an avid football supporter so his sculpt got a bit of a themed paint job. He has received it and is very happy with the results.

For myself, I have painted up a Beer Seer and a Wine Witch to join my Squat army:




Click the Pix!

They have both been sent to the box-file to join their allies while I have started to paint a version of the DJ to join them as well. I haven't got very far with it so there are no pix at this time.

In other news, I have been sculpting (as previously mentioned)... both for myself and also for friends. First of all, I sculpted "Cousin IT" for a Frothers Unite table at next year's Salute:


Click the Pic!

Next, there was a bit of a mix up and two people needed a Paddington for tables at Salute 2023. However, I wasn't aware that they were both asking for the same table... so I ended up sculpting two (in different styles), when only one was needed:




Click the Pix!

That meant that I had a spare. Luckily, an Australian friend had expressed a wish to have a Paddington on his massive train layout... so the spare was sent off to Australia. I am looking forward to see how these turn out, once they are all painted up.

Finally, a bit of sculpting for me and the Dwarf Project... an Engineseer:


Click the Pic!

This one will be joined by a pair of Servitor robots; one will have a servo arm and the other will be a heavy weapon variant. These are still WIP but will see some work, once I have finished painting things.

I also decided to sculpt a Squat version of Thor. I decided to mix a bit of Marvel styling with classic, Norse mythology and ended up with this:


Click the Pic!

I think he looks suitably godly...

Things on the table... I am painting a DJ for myself, then will continue with sculpting. I have a pair of servitors and a pair of advisors for the Dwarf Project, a pair of laughing Buddhas and a diver as commissions for friends and a further commission for the Politicos range (which needs to be finished!!!!)... so I have lots to keep me busy in the run up to Christmas.

I reckon that's about it for now.

See you from the snow covered lane!