A week of nice distractions.

I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on the Squat project this week... especially when I have my Mechadrome mechs sitting so close. As a result, I have spent a lot of the week messing around with my mechs and... to be brutally honest... first impressions didn't last.

Don't get me wrong, the mech casts have suberbly sharp and crisp details but while I was cleaning up the resin components, I quickly realised that quality control at Gangfight Games could be a little better. This week, I have focussed on cleaning up the resin components and getting them washed ready for filling/assembly.

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The light mech bodies aren't too bad apart from one or two being fractionally misaligned and the steps on the right side being in various states from perfect to missing... but not so bad that I couldn't fudge it enough to look OK (that means 24 little brass foot rails need to be made and fitted into 48 little drilled holes).

The medium mechs took a lot more work and to be frank, for the money I paid for them, the work was too much. However... they are cleaned and washed ready for filling. Here are the components for the medium mechs:

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The picture shows the torsos, legs, gun-arms, rocket pods (they go on the top of the torso), a pair of fists, the shoulders, the little pistons (for the rear of the legs) and two mystery components (I think they fit to the front of the cockpit... but I guess I'll just have to wait and see).

Overall, the details are fabulous and the design is excellent but there are a number of things that bothered me about the resin components:

• The legs were slightly misaligned and took a lot of work to look OK.
• The torsos were slightly misaligned and took a lot of work to look OK.
• There are a good few airbubbles and blobs of excess resin that obscure details.
• The guns were so misaligned that I had to cut them down their length to realign them.

Here is a picture of the guns:

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I think that the main issue I had with the legs could be as a result of them being cast as a single item, rather than being broken down into two legs and pants for casting. 

What about the metal components? Fortunately, they were much better and didn't need too much clean-up. Iwas disappointed to find that I have been given opposite fists rather than two left fists (like I ordered) but I am not hugely concerned as it will just mean that one of my eight mechs will be a lefty (a special character... maybe the overall leader).

I still have to sort out the metal components for the light mechs but I have checked them and they are all correct so it will just take me the time to clean them up prior to assembly.

So quality control could be better but I am not unduly concerned (however... it did take the shine off a little). I could complain but I can't really be bothered as I have made the best of them anyway and it just adds time and awkwardness to the whole thing... and I want these to be assembled... NOW!

To cheer things up, an online friend of mine (DWartist), sent me a very generous gift this week:

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You may not be able to see the pic very clearly but there is a veritable horde of Grymn and a rather handy Old Crow Hammer's Slammers vehicle. I'd like to extend a public THANKS! to DWartist for his wonderful gift that really cheered me up after fighting with my mechs all week. And what better way to highlight how much it cheered me up by showing what I plan for the vehicle:

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That's right. The Engineseer now has some transport for him and his two servitors. I will be adding a servitor head in the hatch on the front to act as the driver and I will also be adding a mechanical arm and a pair of bolters. Big Robot will either have to walk or be sent off to another army.  

In other news, I recently spotted my work on the Impact Miniatures site. Unfortunately, it was labelled as being sculpted by someone else... so I contacted tham and queried the mistake. They got back to me straight away, corrected the error and are sending me a gift. I didn't ask for anything, other than the change of details so I am really very impressed with Impact for their kind gesture. The miniature in question uses the body from this miniature that I sculpted for Goblin Aid:

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but with the head sculpted by another sculptor.

This coming week should be one of more component cleaning, assembling, filling and maybe a bit of converting. 

... and I have to go into the gas chamber again (yes... it is that time of year again). 

See you through the bleary eyes of realisation!

Hellboy on the box... and an almost but not quite...

It's Sunday again and I was hoping to show off a fully painted (but not marked) powered armour platoon. However, fate took a hand in stealing away some of my painting time as I was called in to help a damsel in distress... and spent a good couple of hours assembling a children's kitchen playset for a neighbour. Mind you, it was quite entertaining so I wasn't too bothered. I have managed to get this far with my platoon... just three more troops to go before I can start giving them rank and squad markings::

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The three at the front are now ready for the wash stage and then it will be a case of final highlights and basing. Once they are marked up, the real problem starts... that of finding suitable transport for them. I have a Quinjet that I hoped to convert for them to ride in but I am not so convinced now... but I guess we'll see nearer the time.

In other Grymn related news, I have been searching for four scout vehicles to go with a sniper unit (four fire-teams with four troops in each) and have looked at what is available and nothing really suits what I want so I bought some wheels so that I can build my own. My record for scratch-building vehicles is very poor but you never know... maybe this time I will be lucky.

You may remember me mentioning a parcel that I recently received from Pewter Ponies... well, here is a tiny teaser pic of what I got in the box:

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I have no idea what I am going to do with them... I only supported the miniatures to help with funding as they are really quite cute and worth a chance. Only time can say what will happen to them.

So a good few months ago, I sculpted a goblin for Goblin Aid and have sat back and waited for some paint jobs to be completed on it. Well, I found one and it is great:

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It was painted by Orlando the Great over at Frothers Unite and I think it shows my sculpt off really well and I am very pleased to see what has been achieved. Hopefully, there will be many more versions of it.

Well, that about sums things up for today. I need to get some Devlan Mud slapped on a few Grymn.

See you from the brink of war!

Goblin Aid Master.

Just to let you know that my Goblin Aid Green is for sale on E-Bay

HERE IS THE LINK!

For those who can't remember what he looked like:

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Please pop along and put a bid on if you are able (it's for charity).

See you from the end of the pier!

Season's Greetings.

As most of you are in the same boat, you will understand that the next couple of days are usually pretty hectic so I thought I'd say my piece now and what better way to say it than with a picture:

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Stay safe, enjoy the break and have a great time.

See you from the head of the table!

Is it nearly Christmas already?

Wow... what a year! And it will soon be over.

Christmas is just around the corner and that means that I have a couple of weeks off, which I have really earned this year, I can tell you!

So... what about Christmas projects? Well... I have started on a positive path with another inhabitant of Reptiliad; a Dwarf Tribal Chief:

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He is a leader of one of the Dwarf settlements and is always at the forefront of defence when Dragons turn up. Although he isn't a Slayer, he has a few Firestones to his name so he is certainly no coward! There will be more Dwarfs in the future to go with him but they aren't on the immediate list.

On the subject of Reptiliad, I have been busy filling gaps and sorting out mould slip on the Reaper Dragon that has been sitting idle on my work table for ages. It is now ready for priming so hopefully, I may well start to get some paint on it soon. I think it will be green.

What with gap filling on the Dragon and a small sculpting commission, I have been impressed with the fact that I am actually enjoying pushing putty at the moment. It has been a while since that has been the case so in a bid to keep on the boil, I thought I'd erase a little boredom with a fun sonversion for Christmas... Judge Crimbo:

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It is still quite cool having your own metal miniature (that you sculpted yourself - available HERE)  to convert! He has been primed and will be ready for the Christmas 'Inso's World' post.

So keep watching :)

See you from the jetski!

Pre-Sunday update.

Before I start rambling on, I'd like to welcome Grigork to Inso's World. Welcome aboard and feel free to make comments and find inspiration for use in your own projects.

So, I will be without internet for a week or so and as a result, this is Sunday's blog update.

To start, I have been painting in amongst all the insane heat and have managed to actually finish a couple of things... which is nice. First up, we have a Mhurni alchemist on his Enuk riding beast (from Twilight Miniatures):

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I'll admit that it isn't the best photograph but when I get a few more Reptiliad miniatures painted up, there SHOULD be some interesting pix to show off so hopefully, there will be much better pix when that happens. 

Next up, we have a painted version of the Goblin Aid sculpt I did (available here). I have decided on a paint scheme that is a little more generic than a lot of the paint-schemes I am expecting to see but I still think he looks the business:

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In other news, I have a primed Mhurni soldier on the table along with all the other bits and bobs so I expect him to be painted soon (assuming I don't get any more miniature related distractions). Talking of miniature distractions, I have been quite taken lately, with a European company called Puppets War. There are two things that I particularly like... first is this:

I think that they would be excellent for adding to some Grymn Powered Armour to make up a hard hitting assault squad. Next is this:

Two variants of the same suit... both being very cool indeed. Unfortunately, the heavy armour is not yet available but when it does turn up, I'll be ordering a couple and some of the jump packs at the same time.

Well... I have a week or so where I won't have much to do so I am planning on a little bit of writing for the Reptiliad blog. Whether or not I manage it, only time will tell but hopefully, something will turn up.

That, as they say, is that.

See you from the edge of the dark, dark, forest!

Goblin Aid news... amongst other things.

The Modern Goblins that were sculpted for Goblin Aid are now available from Ral Partha Europe. The latest release includes my Judge Gobbo sculpt amongst others so get along and spend:

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Obviously, I am rather chuffed to see another of my sculpts being cast up BUT that wasn't the reason I sculpted it... I did it to help out a fellow sculptor so make sure you pop along and support the effort.

In other news, Miniature Heroes has a bunch of pre-orders up for the new Reaper Bones miniatures. They are for Chronoscope, Dark Heaven Legends and Pathfinder. There is also news of a new range being available on the site; Kabuki Models. 

Finally, I have received some master castings of my Space Dwarf sculpt that I did a while ago:

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Here is one of the casts after being based and primed:

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At the moment, it has just been mastered but hopefully, in a few months, it should be available from Grekwood Miniatures so keep an eye on the site.

Well... that's it for now.

See you from a bright and shiny place!

A week of perspiration.

I have never been a fan of the heat but travelling to places like Iraq, Kenya and Kuwait has taught me that I CAN function in warmer countries because of the arid nature of the heat. It isn't the heat that slows me down it is the humidity... and low and behold, that is British heat for you.

I would dearly have loved to get some proper painting in this week but the humidity has made it impossible. It is all down to sweaty hands and paint drying too quickly. Every time I pick a miniature up to paint, I am leaving sweaty finger prints around the base and it is making them difficult to hold (especially with the rounded edges of Warmachine bases).

So I decided the only chance I had of getting anything done was to hire a paint monkey...

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But for what I paid him, he was a disappointment... and only half base-coated a Space Dwarf. That left me with the only option available... prep & prime. Here is what I have on my work bench at the moment:

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In it, you will see a little progress on the Dragon, a base-coated Mhurni, two Dwarf slayer novices, two Human slayer novices and a Human slayer. It isn't a lot to show off but it is definitely progress.

In other news, I went to a work BBQ with my daughter and managed to get a lovely sunburnt head... but we had a good afternoon with friends and colleagues (and my daughter got to see what a work function was like). I managed to catch up with all of my work projects so I will be able to have a two week holiday very soon (I CAN'T WAIT!!!!)... I plan to take my laptop and get some writing done for the Reptiliad project.

Did anyone mention getting things cast? No? Are you sure? Oooohhhh... it was me! Yes, it looks like getting my sculpts cast is the thing of this week because the goblin I sculpted for Goblin Aid is being mastered and should be ready for sale in around ten days from Ral Partha Europe. I also have another sculpt which I sent over to Carl at Grekwood Miniatures that has also been mastered and I should have some copies to show off soon. the final miniature will be up for sale in the next couple of months (possibly) but is destined for the Grekwood Miniatures shop at some point. I am really happy about this.

A Tribute.

This week marked the second anniversary of Gareth 'Grekwood' Sutherwood's passing. As much as I was saddened by this, I was also uplifted as I looked back at some of the things that have gone on since he left his family and our community. He obviously made a huge impact because his birthday is always remembered on the FoD and the various other forums he visited. Everyone speaks fondly of him and always mentions his thirst for life and his cheerful enthusiasm (not to mention bananas... lots and lots of bananas). His brother has built up an internet business and was inspired enough to start sculpting miniatures and selling them, along with his brother's work... this has branched out to other manufacturer's products. I was moved to sculpt a miniature as a tribute to him and so was Kev White over at Hasslefree Miniatures and painted versions are now at home with the Sutherwoods. Andy Foster at Heresy Miniatures named the armour that his Sharclons wear 'KERG' armour... I wonder why? Various charitable donations have occurred and various charity auctions have happened to raise money to research the disease that caused Gareth's untimely demise.

So... from someone I never met who became a friend, so much good has happened.

A fitting tribute to a life so cruelly cut short.

RIP Gareth 'Grekwood' Sutherwood.

See you from a humble place!

A varied week.

Another Sunday has arrived and it is another gloriously sunny day.

It has been a really busy week at work and the amount of computer work I've been doing has meant tired eyes so I have not really painted too much.

The bases arrived from Fenris Games and they are perfect for the job so this week has mostly been about getting the dragon based and primed. Here is the Dragon on it's new base:

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You will notice that I have cunningly concealed the face of the statue with rocks and have added texture and a more natural look to the base as a whole... and before anyone says anything, he was never going to be red. He is at the very earliest of base-coat stages so the colours and look will change immensely by the time he is finished.

In other news... I have a few little miniatures to show off. These are the first of the Dragon Slayers and at some point soon they will get a write up over at the Reptiliad blog... but that isn't the place for WIP or miniature pix (without a little scenery) so here are the pix:

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Most are from Privateer Press, bought from Wayland Games but the human is from Hasslefree Miniatures. These signify the end of my Muse-drought.

I was in town yesterday and saw that Modelzone was closing down so I was forced into a decision to buy the Merlin I was eventually planning to get. With £11-40 off, I couldn't really say no... so here it is:

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I put the pen on the box to show how big it is. The kit will be packed away for a later time when I can focus on doing a proper job on it. It will be getting the following look:

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Do you remember Goblin Aid? Well the first batch of casts are available to buy now so get over to Ral Partha Europe and buy the Historical Pack now.

Finally, while I was in town I also met my regular Big Issue seller, Al. He was in fine spirits and was enjoying the sunshine. He is back on his meds so he was feeling on top of the world (even though he has terminal bone-cancer). The cancer spread had slowed, which means he has more time now but it was really good to see him up and about instead of hunched under a blanket. 

It makes you think of the important things in life.

So continuing the theme of important things, my lovely wife is off racing for life today so I'm thinking pink and hoping that everything goes well.

See you from behind the kaleidoscopic eye of a fly!

It's still green.

Now that my camera battery has charged up I can show the final, final pic of the Goblin sculpt:

He now has a shiny new basing tab and the tiny holes in his groin and under his nose have been filled in. He just needs to dry before I send him off for casting. I will need to get the address first though!

Seeing as I have been sculpting the Goblin, I have been ending up with small amounts of putty leftover so I have been putting it to good use on my Thor commission:

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I am just fleshing him out at the moment but he is progressing in the direction I want him to... so all is good. In other sculpting news, I have been adding to the Daemon Prince and will soon have some progress to show off. At the moment the face is being worked on and he currently looks like some sort of a fat-lipped fish so I don't want to post pix because people will get the wrong idea of what I want to achieve.

So... sculpting has taken over things at the moment but I have still been able to get a small amount of painting done. It seems that the new powered armour Grymn have stimulated an urban painting drive and I have dug some of the urban platoon out of the cupboard for some work. At the moment, I am getting the first base coat on the platoon so it really isn't that interesting to see... but it is a huge boost to the army painting drive because I actually get to see them as a painted unit (even if there is still a long way to go).

AND finally... I have bought a drop-ship toy to chop up and convert. It is one of these:

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As you can see, it is an action figure toy and is the Quinjet from the Avengers movie. It should be a fun project but I will have to wait until it arrives to properly assess what I want to do with it. There are two options... I can use it as transport for the Powered Armour platoon or I can convert it to use as a  transport option for a mechanised platoon (including vehicles). Until I know dimensions, I can't make any decisions so I wait with baited breath.

Well... that appears to be it for today. I hope you all had a nice Easter and celebrated (or not) how you chose to; whether that meant chocolate eggs or a visit to church.

See you from the room of opportunities!

A green Sunday

Before I start today's post proper, I'd like to welcome Cadcole588 to Inso's World. Welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy your stay. Please feel free to comment and get involved.

So... what is Goblin Aid?

Well, Goblin Aid started as a result of Kev 'The Goblinmaster' Adams getting assaulted and robbed in his own home. Fortunately, he is now on the road to recovery but he has suffered greatly and as a result Goblin Aid was set up to at least raise enough money to replace what was stolen. Part of Goblin Aid involved a number of sculptors getting together to sculpt goblins for auction to raise money. Here is my offering... Future Cop Goblin:

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As you can see, he is ready to judge and dish out punishment. He took a few days to sculpt and I am pretty happy with him... for my very first Goblin sculpt, he's better than I could have wished (even if his head is just a little bit larger than I planned).

Here are a few more close-up pix:

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From the pix, you'll notice I need to finish off the basing tab and fill a small hole in the groin and maybe just under his nose... but he's done apart from that.

Once he has been sent away and the auction has been set-up, I will post further links.

This has been part one of today's Inso's World update. Part 2 will be coming later on (once my camera battery has re-charged) and it will be worth tuning into.

See you from the mushroom fields!