Interesting things...

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It has been an interesting week. In fact, it has been one of happenings and things getting done.

To start with, I have talked to some local, reputable and recommended, double glazing people and this coming week I start the process of getting new windows installed in the house (the survey/measuring starts on Friday). That means that in a few weeks, we should have functioning windows that have vents and can open and shut without having to be sealed shut to stop the gales blowing through. It will be lovely!

I managed to get out on the motor bike this week too. I had a lovely couple of hours pottering about. I went over to Marazion and sat with a coffee while watching horses gallop along the beach and kite-surfers playing on the waves. I also popped over to the dealer where I got my bike from and they have my windscreen in so I have arranged to get that fitted when it comes to first service time.

In my hobby world, I have been getting quite a lot of sculpting and converting done this week. First up, I ordered some alien creatures from Fenris Games and when they arrived, they were smaller than expected... so I decided to have a play and see what I could do and managed to come up with this:

Click the Pic!

It's likely to be a one-off but I guess even Halfling snipers need to get places and not be tired.

Next up, I have managed to convert and prime three Demiurg:

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These guys all have helmets and keep to the same idea as the other ones; mechanic, drone-controller and leader. These are going to form part of a new idea for my Demiurg army; they will be Air Guilders...

I have decided to have separate war-guilds for my Demiurg: 

Earth Guild: The leading guild that operates on the surface of a planet and has ground troops and drones. It has overall control of the three war guilds. These Demiurg tend not to wear helmets. Their colour is green.

Air Guild: This guild operates drones and machines that fight in the air and space. These Demiurg tend to wear helmets. Their colour is blue.

Subterranean Guild: This guild operates troops, drones and machines that fight below the surface of a planet and in the seas. These Demiurg tend to wear heavy armour and reinforced helmets. Their colour is brown/orange... like iron oxide/rust.

That's it for now but it's a start. In order to get some Subterranean guilders converted, I have ordered one of THESE to act as a starting point for a heavy armour conversion. I have ideas about what direction I want to take it in but I won't say anything just yet because I am fickle and those ideas may change.

With sculpting in mind, I have also been ticking along with my commissions and also Dutch from my Predator unit so sculpting wise, it has been a really good week.

In other news... I decided to sell my Halfling Sniper greens:

Click the Pix!

I have kept aside all of the casts I need for my army and will likely dispose of the rest. I got Rob over at Hysterical Games to send the greens back and once they were in my possession again, I offered them up and they have been bought (and received) by CP Models. They will be produced in metal and will be available when they have enough new miniatures to fill a spin-cast mould... so keep an eye on them for any news.

So... this coming week, I am off to the doctors to talk about pain control and see if they can prescribe something to take the edge off my shoulder pain... then maybe I can get back on track and get some focus again. I have the window people coming on Friday and I have plenty of sculpting to be getting on with so it should be a good week... it'll be even better if I can get a few miles in on the bike as well.

See you from the duck pond! 

Sunday stuff.

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

This week has been pretty good from a hobby perspective. I have been properly focusing on getting my little Squat commission finished and have nearly got there... I reckon that by the end of today, I'll have all five finished but unfortunately, this pic shows that I still have the straps on the one on the right to finish:

Click the Pic!

However, I have made great progress on them and am pleased with how far I have got.

In other news, I ordered something from Fenris Games that really piqued my interest. It is something that I wouldn't normally have gone for but as soon as I saw it, I knew what I needed to do to it so I ordered it (along with another awesome miniature) and it has now arrived. I have already started working on it (it is being very slightly converted) but I am not showing it off until it is finished or it will completely spoil the big reveal. The miniature in question is this one:

THE KING OF RATS

... and the other miniature I ordered (because it is one I really like - and is a duplicate of one I already own) is Duncan. Here is one that I have already painted up:

Click the Pic!

I bought a second one to turn into an alien Rogue Trader (sci-fi) so watch this space (although... it may be a while before I get started on this one).

With hobby in mind, you will probably notice that I have stopped work on my Squat army for the time being. It is only a temporary pause as I take stock of things, and part of taking stock is thinking about how I can make improvements or change small things to add flavour. Well... I have been thinking a lot about transport and may be moving towards getting some super heavy transport for my two platoons; namely some Stormlords. They are big enough to hold an entire platoon, can be purchased, need minimal conversion and are single vehicles (I would need three Chimeras (or counts-as options) to transport my platoon and even then, the heavy weapon squad would have to walk) so they seem to be the ideal choice. They are also one step closer to a Squat land train so they are quite flavourful for a Squat army.

The things I think about...

See you from the vehicle manufactorium!

Sunday and the re-emergence continues.

After deciding that one of my support vehicles needed some new wheels, I managed to get hold of some yesterday and after ripping them off a cheap 4WD toy, I set about fixing them to the vehicle. While I was sorting that out, I was also assembling the other vehicle...so here they are; the first two support vehicles all assembled, ready for paint:

Click the Pic!

I had to fudge the wheels a bit but I don't think it looks too bad. The larger vehicle had a ramp fitted to the rear and some hatches added to the top. That means the drones can exit and leave the vehicle now. In the above picture, you can also see a Tunnel Fighter. She will be joining the other Grymn in the drone squad so that she can drive and assist.

In addition to the Tunnel Fighter news, I have been working on something a little different to show off. As you know, I have had a few deliveries this last week and amongst them were a small amount of Space Dogs. I decided a while back, that I wanted to put together a small group of space dogs with a leader and what we have here, is the result:

Click the Pic!

All of the miniatures come from Hasslefree Miniatures and are in the pirate section on their site. I am undecided as to where these will fit in but I reckon they will either be a security team for my Starship Crew or a small team of SHIELD type agents for my super-soldier project...In case you have forgotten, this is the Starship Crew:

Click the Pic!

I am sure that the Pug Squad will fit in wherever I decide to put them.

So tomorrow I start my new job. On the plus side, it is a constant day job (no weird shift patterns) so I will be able to catch up on some sleep and also be able to plan my life a little better...or not...it all depends how things go!

Well...that is it for today. I will post when there is something more to show off!

See you from the corner; standing in the lamp-light!

Recycling

To start today's post, I'd like to welcome Phil C. He has just found his way into Inso's World and will hopefully find something to inspire or borrow for his own purposes. Welcome aboard Phil C, I hope you enjoy your stay.

Recycling is a great way to build armies without buying in lots of new stuff. As you all know, I am a bit partial to buying cheap bits and bobs from E-Bay and I have bought a wide range of 'stuff that might come in useful'. The two vehicles below fall into this category:

Click the Pic!

On the left, we have an IFV from Fenris Games. On the right we have a small van from Ground Zero Games. Two things immediately spring to mind. First, the van has been out of production from Ground Zero Games for a very long time...but fear not! You can now purchase it from Daemonscape on E-Bay. Secondly, the Fenris IFV originally came with a turret but I decided to add a skirt to it and turn it into a small hover vehicle for my Grymn desert army...here is what happened (a LONG time ago):

Click the Pic!

Anyway...I digress...My Tunnel Fighter army is in need of four transport vehicles; one each for the specialist units. Last night I had a sudden brainwave and remembered that I had some resin vehicles hidden away that hadn't been allocated to any projects. I had a quick root around and now have the perfect vehicles for my K9 and Drone squads.

The K9 vehicle will be the GZG van. It has plenty of room to house 6 K9s and 3 Grymn so I won't be converting it at all. When I bought this vehicle, I was warned that the moulds were a bit old so there is quite a bit of clean up to do...and I may end up having to use some Lego wheels...but it isn't un-salvageable.

The Drone vehicle needed to be quite large and as a result, the Fenris vehicle is perfect. I will need to convert a few bits and bobs for it to achieve it's purpose but not too much. I will be adding some roof hatches for the aerial drones to fly out of and will also be adding a large rear ramp for the wheeled drones to gain entry and leave from the back. I am also going to armour-up the front a little. As you can see, I have added spacers to the wheels to add a bit of width to the vehicle so conversion is under way.

As you can see, I now only need two transport vehicles...one for the medics and one for the OGrymn squad. I am thinking about having a flier for the OGrymn (and I already have a kit in mind that, again, I have in my collection) and another vehicle that is large enough to house an operating theatre for the medics...and that one is going to take a bit of thought.

One thing that has happened as a result of my digging is that I have decided to add a second trooper to the drone squad to act as a driver.

...AND...I find I have been distracted again...

At least it is a distraction that has led back to a constructive project.

See you from the deep, dark caverns!