Showing posts with label Ghar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghar. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 October 2018

The wind has changed direction.

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week has been fairly interesting so I'll get straight to it...

My wife braved the shave... (the week before last... but I failed to mention it in my last blog post) and has so far raised nearly £400 for MacMillan Cancer Support, which is very cool. Her charity page is still up and now shows a 'before and after' so pop along and please donate if you can:


On the job front, I have now passed all the checks and should be starting work this coming week. I will be shadowing a Health Care Assistant for the week before going for my induction training the following week so things are really getting interesting now. I know that the first few months will be tough because it's all new to me, it's a particularly demanding job and I have been away from a job for nearly two years. I have a feeling that Inso is going to be a very tired chap! I am really looking forward to it and can't wait to get started.

I have finally got my medals sorted out. I sent them off this week to get them cleaned, have the clasp fitted and get them court mounted and treated with stay-bright. They are due to return to me on Monday and I am looking forward to seeing what they look like. I plan to attend the remembrance festival again this year so I want them to look as good as they possibly can. Hopefully, I'll be able to show them off next week.

On the hobby front, a fair bit has happened...

First, I got a refund from EBay for a parcel that wasn't sent... so I used the refund to buy the same thing from a more reliable seller and as a result, I have a new box of Kharadron Arkanauts to convert. I plan on using four for Demiurg and the rest will become the start of a kill team.

Next, I finished the Drone Controller for my Demiurg Air Guild so I now have two complete command units for that guild:


Click the Pic!

With that finished I sat and stared at the Air Guild Drones and thought... "nah!" so I decided it was time to sort out the big dilemma... "how exactly, did I paint my Earth Guild Drones?"... well... that was the plan but I failed because of the effect that shades and under-coats have on colours so I decided to bite the bullet and just pick new colours, that looked similar and start from scratch. Luckily, I only have three painted Earth Guild Demiurg and three of their drones so I can ignore the colour differences for now and if it bothers me too much in the future, I can either repaint them or replace them. Now that I have made the paint-scheme decision, I have noted the colours on my army list so I won't forget them and have begun the task of putting together the first full unit of Earth Guild Drones... and here is where it's at:


Click the Pic!

Looking at the image (left to right), top left  are the three finished Drones (assault). The last one on the back row and the next two on the row in front are re-coloured, incorrectly base-coated drones (I had already base-coated them but the colour wasn't right and I didn't know what colour it was so I took the decision to re-coat them with a green that I knew the identity of)... they are a bomber and two gun drones. Next is a 'first coat of green' bomber, then the two in the next row are shield drones and finally, the one at the front is the last assault drone. Since the picture was taken, the grey ones have received their first coat of green. 

From that little ramble, the unit will consist of:

3x Demiurg Command Staff.
4x Assault Drone.
2x Bomber Drone.
2x Gun Drone.
2x Shield Drone.

Luckily, the Demiurg Command Staff are painted differently and I can estimate the colours better so when it comes to painting the next Earth Guilders, I shouldn't have the same colour problems.

Speaking of colour problems... I don't have very much of the green paint I have chosen (Coat d'Arms - 111 Dark Elf Green) so I have put in an order to Hasslefree Miniatures to get another couple of pots. Obviously, I couldn't just order two pots of paint so I have ordered a STEVE and a SCULPTING DOLLY to make a decent little order. I have no fixed plans for them as yet (apart from the dolly becoming a superhero of some sort)... but I never sit still for long.

Finally, I have so far painted three Primaris Space Marines and have a fourth on the handle... so that little project is ticking along nicely as well.

That's it for this week.

See you from the new age!


Sunday, 10 April 2016

A week of getting grounded.

Hello again.

I've just got back from a lovely stroll around Henley with my wife and am sitting with a cuppa so it seemed the perfect time to update Inso's World. Here's the river Thames over at Henley:


Click the Pic!

It was nice just to get out and about in some fairly decent weather. Yesterday, we went to Farmoor Reservoir, near Oxford and unfortunately, didn't get to enjoy the visit as much as we had hoped due to freezing rain and howling winds... but we hadn't been there before and will go there again, once the weather is a bit better. On the plus side, there were a lot of birds over there (including Grebes and Cormorants) so apart from it being a bit of a 'recce', we also got to see something worth seeing.

I really think that sometimes, you need to 'ground' yourself and that is what has happened this week. I have taken a deep breath and managed to land a bit.

Anyway... the hobby. This week has been fairly quiet on the hobby front but I have managed to get this far with the first of the Ghar battlesuits:


Click the Pic!

I am not sure whether they are finished yet... I need to decide if I am going to add any markings or not... but from a general standpoint, they are finished and I am now cracking on with the second set of three:


Click the Pic!

These will get one of the finished ones as a leader and be the first complete little squad. I have already ordered another set; just like the ones above so they should be here at some point this week which will motivate me to get these ones finished before I start assembling the new ones.

One of the major things that has been happening with my hobby lately is tidying. I have been through all of my stored bits and bobs and have sorted them into keeps, discards and sales. I have managed to sort all of the stuff that was stored upstairs into 4 boxes of keeps. Now I have to sell what has been dug out and then I will start on the bare-metal miniatures I have. As a result of all this 'consolidation', I am starting to feel much happier about the hobby situation again so I can only imagine how much better I will feel when I have completely finished the streamlining.

As a result of the tidying, I have anothe couple of things going up on EBay at 16:00hrs today (just three lots) so if you are in the UK, have a look:


I think that, once I start getting rid of the lead mountain, the anvil will be cast away from my neck and I can start focusing on what I want to rather than being constantly reminded of all of the clutter I have built up.

Now... some people might be recoiling in horror when I mention selling hobby stuff but rest assured, I am keeping lots of it too and will be continuing with my hobby projects just like before... it's just that I will be doing it from a more relaxed place that isn't dictated to by 'TOO MUCH STUFF!!!'

I think everything will turn out just fine in the end.

See you from the rescue centre!

Sunday, 27 March 2016

A post at Easter

Hello and Happy Easter (if you celebrate it).

The good thing about Easter is that you get time to spend at home (unless you are one of those people who have to work) and that means time for hobby as well as other things.

So... where to start?

During this week I went on my very first organised pub crawl. We had a map, got it stamped at each venue and all I need to do is turn up at a pub to collect my T-shirt... we didn't end up at the T-shirt pub... so I need to present my map at some point. It was good fun and not at all irresponsible. We also started the afternoon with a discussion about human factors that affect us when we are at work... so it was an educational day as well.

Hobby wise, I am very glad to say that some of my turrets arrived from Ainsty Castings (I am now just waiting for the mini turrets from Ground Zero Games) so I have been working out how to mount them on my Squat vehicles. Fortunately, I had a pack of plastic shot glasses which have come in very handy... so I was able to get this far with the first one:


Click the Pic!

I have built the platforms for the turrets on all five vehicles but still need to trim the shot glasses for the front of the remaining platforms. I think the turret suits the vehicle perfectly (it is from a Hammer's Slammers 15mm command blower tank) and will look even better once I have fitted the barrel to it. Incidentally, the area on each side of the turret platform is where the mini turrets will go. At the moment, the vehicle looks a bit 'chopped in two' but that will change once I add some gubbins between the cab and the transport compartment.

In other news, I have got a bit further with the Ghar... the third close combat suit has now been washed... but I wasn't in the mood for proper painting so I assembled and primed the three ranged suits I bought. Here's where I am at:


Click the Pic!

I have decided to give the different types of suit, heads to match their role so they are different depending on what weapons they have; a handy thing about the kits is that they come with three different heads in each one.

So... there you have it. Appart from sorting a few things, that's it for now.

See you from the other side!

Sunday, 20 March 2016

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:


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!

Sunday, 13 March 2016

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:


Click the Pic!

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:


Click the Pic!

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!