Easter greetings.

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it... and for the more heathen amongst you...

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This week has been a fairly productive one; with a few twists and turns along the way. I have been unsettled at night but have also managed to do lots of work in the garden and still have the dexterity for a little hobby stuff on the side. 

First up, I have got a little further with my Squat platoon:

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As you can see, all of the arms have had the first coat of green stuff applied, ready for further sculpting work. Since the picture was taken, I have also filled in the gaps on the specialist trooper arms, added straps to comms packs and also blended in the gap between the medic's pack and his back. Obviously, I have a long way to go on these... but unfortunately, someone decided to put an idea in my head and I have been distracted. What by? This:

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In case it isn't obvious, it is the start of a Ratling sniper in full ghillie suit. Unfortunately, it is a slow process because I have to let the previous layer of leaves dry before I start the next one... but it is ticking along nicely. One of the good things about a sculpt like this is that details aren't hugely important because everything will be covered by leaves so that makes it a slow... but simple sculpt. If it goes well, I will make a few more and get them cast up. The good thing is that Ratlings will fit in perfectly with my army (I have already included Beastmen and Ogryn in my list... so a few more abhumans are definitely in the theme of things) and will also mean that I don't have to have a veteran unit with snipers if I don't want to (I really wanted a sniper unit in full ghillie suits and the Ratlings will fill that void).

In another drastic change to the usual process of things... I saw these and couldn't resist:

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It has been a long time since I have bought any human 28mm miniatures but these ones just have 'Agents of Shield' written all over them and they will look great as part of my existing superhero project. The big dog (Chip) will be joining the Pug squad:

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...but that's not all!

Enclosed within the little parcel I received was some popping candy AND a rather interesting little bag with 'Happy Retirement' written on it. Inside the bag were some wonderful little surprises... that I will be sharing with you at a later date because... well... they are AWESOME!

I was extremely happy and it was a wonderful surprise so I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Hasslefree Miniatures for such a generous gift.

Well... that's it for today.

See you from the world of illusion!

Pugs!

This week has been another slow plod but I have managed to slap some paint on things so here's a few pictures.

First up, Pug number two is finished:

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The bases will all be finished together so that they match the scenic base. 

Next we have a WIP Big Robot:

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He's the one on the right... The one on the left is another robot conversion. Obviously, I still have a way to go but it is getting there. These two have also caused me to think about putting together a small band of warrior robots... a bit like the ABC Warriors... but I have only got as far as these two and possibly the embryo of a larger one that I have had on my mind for a very long time... but only time will tell what happens there.

The hobby. It is just two words. It means different things to so many people but to me it is a habit that I have built up over the last thirty years or so. What does it actually mean to me? It is a way to pass the time... but it is also a massive time-soak that I could be using for other things. I often look at my hobby stuff and despair... this is my living room (I am not even going to mention the state of the loft):

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The three cupboards are completely full so I have no space to tidy away all the mess on top of them... and this is my dinner table:

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If we have friends around for a meal, that stuff gets plonked on the computer table. My life is dictated to by the amount of hobby stuff that I have... it stares at me everyday and there is no escape from it. Last week I was talking to a workmate about it (he's not in the hobby) and I referred to it as an anvil around my neck that I had no emotional attachment to. I simply continue to do the hobby because I have got into the habit and it has cost so much that I feel obliged to keep going with it. I then said that if someone turned up and offered me a fair price for the lot of it, they could take it all away and I wouldn't miss it... it would probably be a great weight lifted from my shoulders.

I think there are many such things in life that you allow to take control of you and it is only when you start tripping over things and are forced to confront them that you realise just how unimportant they are.

To put it into perspective, lets's take a box of plastic space marines (ten tactical marines):

• You buy the box of marines.
• You have to decide how you want to build them... so you need a codex.
• You then need the tools to remove them from the sprues and clean them up.
• You then need glue to assemble them.
• You then need to undercoat/prime them.
• You then need to paint them.
• When they are painted, you need to base them... so you need basing materials.
• When they are finished, they need to be varnished.
• The remaining components need to be stored (either on sprue or clipped off into a storage box).
• The tools need to be stored.
• The glue, paints and basing materials need to be stored.
• The troops need to be safely stored.

Before you know it, you have to think about all of the things above and until everything is finished and stored properly, there is stuff to get involved with. That doesn't take into account having to transport everything (something that happens quite regularly in the military).

All that, just to have ten plastic marines to game with. It makes you think.

I look at my collection and I despair because a lot of it doesn't have transportation storage... so I have to sort it out this year OR sell the stuff. 

It's all on a knife-edge at the moment.

If I get rid of everything, I can start again... but will I get a fair price? If I don't get a fair price, will I regret it? Will the new 'freedom' justify the lack of a fair price? Do I just suck it up and get storage for everything? 

So much to think about.

If you are interested in buying some of my stuff... here's my Ebay link:

EBAY LINK

Things are going slow so you may get a bargain if you are quick!

See you from Lobo's Space Bike!

Pugs?

No... Pugs in powered armour!

This week I have been working on a couple of miniatures that have been sat for a long time gathering dust. They are from Hasslefree Miniatures and are a pair of pugs wearing powered armour:

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The one on the left can be found HERE and is almost complete. The one on the right can be found HERE and still needs a bit of work. Once these two are finished, I have a human adventurer to go with them and a nice little scenic base.

I apologise for the poor picture quality but the light in the house is terrible today and outside is just as bad.

It's just a short post today so I'll be off now.

See you from the crossroads!

Sunday sculpting and converting.

Hello again. It is Sunday so it is time for me to round up the week with a post about the things I have been getting up to.

First of all, I have been running a bit. That has meant a number of things...

Firstly, I have run around 13.5 miles this week. That was in 3 runs but still amounts to a half-marathon. This has led to the conclusion that...

Secondly, I need new trainers because my shins are not at all happy. I expect this to be as a result of the old trainers I have been running in so I went into town today and bought some shiny new running trainers and they are WAY better than the old ones.

Thirdly, I have signed up for a half marathon. That will be the furthest I have run in a single go (currently, it is 10 miles) and I will have to decide on a charity to get donations for... although it is likely to be the Royal British Legion.

The trip to town was eventful too... I managed to kill a pheasant. It ran all over the place and then ran at the car with fatal results. It was not a good start.

So... that is running done, now let's talk about the movie 'The Edge of Tomorrow' (I finally got to see it on DVD after missing it in the cinema).

The film is all about a bloke who ends up being labelled a deserter and put in a small unit of troops who are chosen as the first wave in a massive assault against alien invaders. The attack goes wrong and when the bloke is killed, he wakes up back where he started and has to re-live the day's events again and again. This leads him to meet a hero in the army who helps him on his journey.

There are aliens aplenty, some excellent powered suits and really cool looking aircraft. There is also the scene with an RAF Puma helicopter landing in Trafalgar Square (the very same aircraft that I have fixed in the past) so that was great.

What did I think of the film? I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any sci-fi film buff.

On to the hobby now... and here is a picture:

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As you can see, the hovercraft conversion is coming along quite nicely. It is in the process of getting the add-ons shaped to fit the hull. There is still a way to go and the front and rear sections will change a bit before I am finished. The Squat Engineseer is starting to get his armour and is also taking shape nicely. I have learned that my sculpting finesse has taken a hit because the surfaces aren't as smooth as usual but I guess that I am just a little out of practice. As a result of only being able to do tiny bits at a time on the Squat, I have been bulking up the 'thing' in the middle with the leftover putty. The 'thing' will be revealed at some point... it should be worth the wait. Finally, at the bottom of the page we have the five eights. These are five sci-fi troopers from Hasslefree Miniatures that are going to be purple to go with these guys:

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As a result, 'Meg and the Purple Pugs' will soon become 'Meg and the Purple Pirates'. When new stuff turns up, it is always a case of 'adapt and overcome'!

This week also saw the arrival of my sculpt for the Hasslefree sculpting competition 2012:

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As you can see, the sculpt survived the casting process completely intact... and you will also notice the metal version next to her. I am very happy to have another of my sculpts in the metal. Hopefully, she will be deemed worthy to go into the Hasslefree Miniatures store... but we will have to wait and see. As well as my two sculpts, I also received a bunch of the winning casts and some others that were chosen, like mine, as HF choice miniatures. All in all... Hasslefree Miniatures have done me proud.

That is it for today. I hope to have some very exciting things to go in the next update so I hope you pop in and visit Ins's World again next week.

See you at a thousand miles an hour!

Spring is in the air.

This week has seen the first day of Spring... and the temperature has taken a dip! However, nature has decided to make a stand and there is blossom on the trees, there are daffodils and snowdrops in the hedgerows and the birds are being decidedly frisky and vocal about things. Spring is great because it is like an awakening after the pause of winter.

Why all the gushing about Spring? The seasons of 'more light during the day' are here and that gives me a bit more enthusiasm to do things.

I could make lots of excuses this week about being tired out (which I was), distracted with work (which I was) and generally not being in a very motivated place (which I was) but I'm not going to. Instead I'll talk about my Grymn powered armour platoon...

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The above picture shows two images of the same painted squad. You will notice (if you look very hard) that they are all painted; including rank markings. Well, since this picture was taken, I have gloss varnished them ready for adding the decals. Yesterday, I sat down and trimmed all of the number decals ready for them to be applied... but I haven't put them on yet. It may be because I have some regiment decals coming from Dom's Decals and I want to get all of the decals out of the way at once or it may be because I have had another small distraction to keep me busy. Needless to say, I expect that they will have the decals added at some point and then I will matt varnish them and lose sleep over what vehicles to use for them (I have ideas but am not sure if I want to pay the price for them...Hmmm).

Did I mention a distraction? Well... here is a very purple distraction:

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He is a powered armoured Kieran from Hasslefree Miniatures and is a resin master. I bought the miniature for four main reasons:

1. It is a very cool miniature.
2. I wanted to see how it measured up against the Grymn.
3. I already have powered armoured Meg (his sister).
4. I was ordering a few other things so it made sense to order him at the same time.

When I got him in hand, I quickly realised that he fits in perfectly with the Grymn (as you can see from the Grymn in the image) and also that a little bit of chopping would mean that the Grymn powered armour arms could be added for more variety. When I first saw the miniature I saw the potential to have a small command squad for my Grymn NMA but needed to check before I bought a batch. Seeing as this was a resin master and, as a result, was more expensive than a metal miniature, I decided that I wouldn't chop him up but would add him to a small unit instead. It was an obvious choice to add him to the Pug Squad:

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... And that is why he is purple. The trouble is, all I can see is an empty space on that movement tray and as a result, I have quickly assembled a miniature to fill the gap... but you'll have to wait for that!

In other news, I have bought into another Kickstarter. I shouldn't have... but then there are a lot of things in life that I shouldn't have done but I can live with it! The Kickstarter in question is Mechadrome. It is a game aimed at 15mm and involves a number of rather neat mechs. As a result of my questions (and other people's too), the creator has decided to put together some 28mm mechs as a side-line (at the moment, they aren't catered for in the game, they are just 28mm 'show-off' miniatures for people to paint up and use for whatever they want) so I jumped on board. Here is a teaser showing examples of a 15mm and 28mm version of a Terran mech:

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They are cool, aren't they? Jump on board and pledge here: MECHADROME KS LINK.

Have you ever seen the film called 'Pay it Forward' or heard about the idea behind it? Pay it forward is where you help five people or give them a gift and they agree to do the same to another five people... and so on. I am involved with a Pay it Forward project on Facebook and have already gathere things together for three of my list of six people (there is always that one person who you want to add... you know, the person who is awesome, selfless and never asks for anything). One is complete, so I just have five left. It is a good feeling to be spreading a bit of hapiness about... maybe you should give something similar a go? It may completely change your outlook on life... who knows?

That's your lot for today.

See you from the edge!

Post Christmas Daze.

Christmas has now passed and since I have been away to Cornwall for a few days, very little has happened on the hobby front.

The Diorama of Doom competition is now in the voting stages so please pop along and vote for your favourite HERE (visitors are welcome to vote... and you get 2 votes).

My hobby station has been dismantled for Christmas so I will be unpacking a few things to be getting on with over the next couple of days. I have to finish my commission sculpts (which are rather fun)... here's a WIP pic:

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I still have to 'chubby' them up and add some facial details but they are coming along nicely. Now that I am back at home it shouldn't take very long to finish them.

In other news, My next dragon has had a green base-coat applied and will be undergoing some further paint application over the coming days and weeks... hopefully, she'll turn out OK.

Just before Christmas hit, I was able to order a few of the brand new weapon back-packs from Hasslefree Miniatures. They are designed to fit in with the Grymn in Powered armour and can be found HERE. Here is a picture:

Click The Pic (From Hasslefree Miniatures' site)

As well as the back-packs there are some cool new robotic arm sets that can be found HERE. Here is a picture:

Click The Pic (From Hasslefree Miniatures' site)

The arms were designed to be used to convert the powered armour into 15mm mecha but they would work equally well in 28mm as replacement arms for injured Grymn.

When my parcel arrived with the 8 back-packs I had ordered, I also received some Christmas goodies including a powered armour trooper with the robotic arms kit, some cogs, stickers, sweets AND... 

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It is a giant, 3D printed version of the Pug pictured in the photo. I am not sure what I plan to do with him just yet but I thought it was an awesome gift! I think he will end up as a statue for a piece of terrain but I may well change my mind and use it as a Pug Ogre! Who knows?

Well that is about it for now. I hope you had a great Christmas.

See you through the haze!

It has been epic.

This week has been 'interesting' to say the least.

I have culled someone on Facebook for being insensitive about the Pog.

I have joined a couple of Facebook groups which are about the up-coming Warzone redux and also a general miniatures one.

I have finished painting Meg and the Purple Pugs:

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I have got the ball rolling for this year's Unofficial Diorama of Doom (UNDoD 2013) - LINK

I have got the ball rolling for a Frothers Unite sculpting competition - LINK (It is Frothers so the language/tone is crude and blasphemous... you have been warned).

I have been sculpting a... CREATURE (no WIP pix for this one... you'll see it when it is finished).

I have been working on the Macross mech from the last post (tidying up the cockpit).

I have dug another random miniature from the cupboard and have painted it (just waiting for the base to dry before I finish painting the base and post some pix). I also have a second one which is waiting to be painted (I had to do a bit of emergency filling on it).

I have dug out a GZG mech from the cupboard and have re-based it ready for priming (it fell off the base because it wasn't pinned). Unfortunately, the weather outside is frightful... so priming is postponed until it improves.

Luckily, I took a day's leave on Friday because I drove my son to college because 'my alarm didn't go off'... which it did because I heard it. The 'Snooze button' will be the death of the world one day...

I won an auction on E-Bay for the last model in the set of these:

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It was Run-Valam and it means that I have all of them in boxes; safe for a rainy day (once the kit arrives).

I think that about covers it... 

Saturday, we will be picking up Charmmy from my sister's so that will be fun.

I will be posting a few pix later so watch this space :)

See you from limbo!

A mixed bag today.

I have been busy for the last couple of days and thought that I would share some of the results.  To start with, I have added grey to selected panels on the remaining four mechs:

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The next step is to wash them with Devlan Mud and re-paint all the grey.  I guess that it will all be worth it once they are all finished...

...on the subject of grey, the next squad of bikes for my Void project is finished:

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They have slightly smaller decals and a more regular camouflage pattern than the last squad but I think that they will fit into the platoon fine.

The Pug squad has got a fully painted leader now so I'd like you to meet Meg:

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She is finished but I am still in two minds as to whether I want to add some camouflage to her...I quite like her plain and she is so small that painting the camouflage will be quite fiddly...Hmmm...decisions; decisions.

Finally...it isn't purple but it is an interesting shade of red...

...to cut a long story short, I opened a secret Santa gift at work and it contained a hint that my hair was grey...so I applied it and now it isn't!  I suppose, in the light of day, I should have thought about it more sensibly but hey...I'm on holiday so what can possibly go wrong?:

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...and so the world turns...

See you from the stage, man!

WHAT...A...WEEK!

It has been a rather interesting week for me. Lots of things have happened and the biggest was a change in job.

I have now moved over to my new job and I have now got my feet beneath the desk and have started to take on tasking. The people are good and they are starting to get used to me, even though I haven't let ME out of the bag too much yet (don't want to scare the natives too much, too soon). It is an eight-to-five job and it will enable me to regain some of the routine I lost whilst working shifts. It is early days but I think I will fit in nicely. This week we have 'secret santa' and a Christmas party to look forward to. Should be nice.

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to a Christmas party with people from my last job this week and had a great time. I also have had to recover somewhat (sleep has been a rare and wonderful thing this week).

I have collected a lovely, runny, head-cold this week and have been feeling a little bit sluggish. Add to that the fact that I am breaking in a new pair of RAF shoes this week and I must look like a hunched old crone whilst walking to work!

My wife is poorly at the moment...dizzy with occasional sickness...so I am Mr. House-dad today and have sorted out a nice stew for dinner (lots of pepper). My two teen-aged children are manning the barriers as well so all is as well as it could be.

So...quite eventful.

But what of the hobby? Well...I can't say that I have been over active on the hobby front but I am quite happy to have dug my Tunnel Fighter mechs from the cupboard and especially to have them all painted in gun-metal. I have also painted the pilots, ready for the ink stage that comes once I have painted the grey bits on the mechs. Here's where they are at the moment:

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After painting all that gun-metal, I needed a break from the mechs so I have started base-coating the bike squad (still a bit to go yet):

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I've only managed to under-coat the Pug Squad...but it may show the details better than raw-lead does...so here they are:

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Shopping...yes we all like shopping and this week I have purchased a couple of items. I had a small win on E-Bay and as a result, I have a small parcel containing a squad of Void Archangels, waiting at the post office. I have also bought some Twilight Miniatures (as mentioned in my last post). I am not sure whether they will remain fantasy...but we'll see.

I have also added some cash to a Kick-starter project for a band of superhero sculpts called Crossover It looks very promising so if you like the thought of multi-choice superhero sculpts in 28mm, then this may be for you...if it is, then pledge some money.

My final thought for the day is exactly that...a thought. I have decided to add a small section to my blog called 'What The Voices Tell Me'. It will be a little note on what I have been thinking about between posts that may or may not be hobby related and may or may not be something I will pursue/progress...so watch out for it.

Whew! That is it for today. I have things to do.

See you through the red window!

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:

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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:

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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:

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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!