More tanks?

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

I've had a great week this week because my lad has been staying with us. He had some leave so I have had company for the week.

Non-hobby wise has been lots of going out, chatting, and just pottering around enjoying the daily company.

Sadly, he had to return to his unit today but not before he'd wished me a happy father's day... speaking of which, my lass has had dinner with us today as well so it has been a proper family day (in one way or another) and I was well gifted for Father's Day.

Hobby wise, things have been a little slow but I have managed to finish the second Plasma-Tank... currently, this is where the tank company is at:

Click the Pic!

Tank number six (also a Plasma-Tank) is ticking along. I have sprayed the sprues but am waiting until I have finished sculpting the tank commander before I spray the hull and turret. Speaking of the tank commander, I have been struggling with my sculpting mojo and haven't got particularly far with her. I am hoping that I will be able to have her finished this week so that I can get the last Plasma-Tank finished.

Once the last Plasma-Tank is finished, I had no more tanks to paint... so I have jumped the gun and ordered the last four tanks for the company. The new tanks will be arriving this week but in the meantime, I have been struggling to find appropriate tank barrels for them. Yesterday, I remembered that I had some VOTOMs weapons, on their sprues, in the loft so a quick trip up a ladder later, I had what I needed and have assembled three new barrels, ready for when the tanks arrive. They will represent Battle-Cannons for three of the new tanks. The fourth tank (the company commander) will get a variation on the barrels because he (or she) will be getting a Vanquisher-Cannon.

The mech hasn't been touched and won't be until the tanks are finished. That said, I have been thinking about how things will be converted so will be fairly prepared, once work starts on the mech project (Knight Titan).

This coming week will be a bit all over the place with lots of admin, DIY and chores... on top of the hobby stuff so I should be kept nice and busy.

That's about it for today.

See you from the touch line!

Plasma-Tank!

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week has been one of household chores, a few social gatherings and a bit of hobby stuff.

Chores wise, I have had to get the gardens sorted for my missus' peace of mind so now the grass is all mowed, the weeds are all gone and this morning, the clippings were dropped off at the recycling centre. I also managed to get rid of the existing, mains, smoke detector (broken and hanging from the ceiling on it's wire), safely capping the wire, fillig in all the mess on the ceiling (where it had fallen from, been glued to and then fallen from again), repainting the ceiling area and then fitting a nice little battery operated one that works a treat. As well as that, it was a case of sorting a leaking toilet and doing household chores.

From a social perspective, we popped over to the Harbour Inn, Porthleven to meet up with an old friend and his new partner for an evening of chat. It was lovely to see them both together for the first time and get to know his new lady. On another night, we went to see a local ska band at the Rodney Inn, Helston and that was cool. On Wednesday, my missus completed a Race for Life with her work-mates and I got to meet them for the first time... they're a good bunch. I'd go as far to say that I have had quite a sociable week.

Hobby wise, I have been ticking along with my tank company and have got the first platoon of punisher-tanks finished (apart from decals):

Click the Pic!

I have also mocked up a marking scheme to show off how I want the tanks to look when finished (using Windows Paint): 

Click the Pic!

With the first platoon out of the way, I continued with the rest and managed to get the first of the plasma-tanks finished (except for decals):

Click the Pix!

It's the fourth complete tank and I have now made space on my table for the fifth one; also a plasma-tank. I also have the turret from the sixth tank on my table, waiting to get a tank commander sculpted into it... unfortunately, this may be a stumbling block. That said... my sculpting muse may turn up to help at some point... I hope so. 

Being keen to get the tanks finished, I have deliberately stored the Dougram kit away from sight so that I don't start getting it assembled. That doesn't mean I am not thinking about how I plan to convert it. In fact, I have more or less decided that it will have the same proportions as this one:

Click the Pic!

I found it on Pinterest and it has called out to be recruited by my Squat army as a titan. My version will not look the same but it will lean heavily on the proportions and some of the design elements of this particular mech... but not until the tank company is complete!

That's it for today.

See you from the workshop!

Oops, I did it again.

Hello and welcome to a rather tardy Inso's World.

Not to put too fine a point on it, I have had a nagging virus that has kicked the arse out of any motivation that I may have had... so I have been doing rather a lot of not very much at all.

That said... I have done a few things over the last couple of weeks.

The house painting (external) is now finished apart from a nasty mark where the boiler vented down my newly painted wall. I have since added a hose to take the draining, dirty water away from my nice white walls and will dab a bit of paint on at a later date to cover the mess. The tree stumps are more or less gone from the garden, thanks to a friend who turned up with a trusty chainsaw. I also managed to empty the shed a bit, by sorting out some recycling of old electronics/metals and wood and getting it to the recycling center.

Since the last blog update, I have also been out and about with my wife to see numerous local bands and we also went up to Chard in Somerset to attend an '80s/'90s School Disco/Reunion this weekend just gone and stayed at a lovely little hotel overnight before returning home. The disco was a charity event, arranged by a friend of mine and was brilliant. We both had an immense time... I even met up with a couple of people I hadn't seen for over 25 years!

On a hobby note, I have ordered some alternative decals from EBay because I have lost hope in getting the ones I previously ordered. I have sculpted the tank commander in the third tank:

Click the Pic!

The tank has now been fully base-coated and washed, ready for the stippling process to begin. I haven't painted the commander yet because I need to get the tank sorted first. Here's where it is at so far:

Click the Pic!

With tanks in mind, I have been collecting various pens in order to build the primary weapons for the remaining members of the tank company. There will be three battle cannons, three plasma cannons and an executioner battle cannon (for the overall company command tank). I think that I have covered all the bases and have the option of buying more, should I mess things up... which could be handy because as well as arming tanks, I may need to find some alternative weapons for this:

Click the Pic!

It is a 1/48 scale kit that assembles to be around 8" tall (if assembled in accordance with the instructions). It was an opportunity I couldn't miss because it was only £19 including postage... so a complete bargain! Obviously, it will be joining my Squat army as a proxy Knight Titan so will be getting a little bit of work done on it to give it a bit more of a Squat feel. No... I will not be giving it a beard and axe... it will be getting a more earthy look than a giant Dwarf. That said, I won't be doing very much with it for the time being because the tanks are my priority.

So... commissions. Well... I have tried to get some sculpting done on the commissions and have managed to bulk out a Goblin and tinker with a second one... but that is about it. I am desperately hoping that my sculpting muse comes home soon because I hate not being able to progress other people's sculpts. My tank commander is not up to my usual standard and I certainly wouldn't want to fob off a client with work that wasn't the best I could do... so it's just a waiting game at the moment.

On the plus side, my teetotalism has greatly improved my mood and I feel much more positive than I did before. Hopefully, once I shift this bloody virus, that positive mood will turn into motivation and I'll be able to get more stuff done. 

Hopefully.

It's funny that I don't miss the drink at all... although I did feel a bit self conscious at the disco 'making shapes'...

Well... that's about it for this update. I don't know when the next one will be but it should be soon.

See you from the conga line!

Another Sunday.

Before I start today's post, I'd like to welcome The Lord of Excess, head head and Wyvern Wrangler to Inso's World. I hope you all enjoy your stay and find something of interest amongst the various corridors and pathways.

This week has been another slow one in the hobby camp but busy in 'real life'. Amongst all the usual working routine, I have had my annual ground training (first aid, security, fire safety, shooting and respirator training) and my fitness test to keep me busy. It is all done now so I can focus on better things now.

Hobby wise, I finished of another of the fire teams for the powered armoured units and have started another one... but they look just the same as the rest so I haven't taken a pic. I'll get a pic when the squad is finished. I haven't had the eye for sculpting but I have been busy on the E-Bay front and have bought another couple of Votoms mechs (Fatty and Berserga) so I am now confident that I have all of the variants I require for my Votoms project (once the kits arrive, of course). I also bagged a very cheap, assembled mecha... which I have now stripped down ready for converting... and it is a Da-Web mech from Megaro-Zamac. I am sure that it will crop up at some point.

In other news, I went to the Overlord event in Abingdon today and it was exactly as I'd expect. The event filled two large halls and there were plenty of sellers and games to keep my attention for a few hours... well done to the Abingdon Wargamers... it was a very well run event and I met some very nice people. I took a few pounds to spend and have bought a few bits and bobs (I'll share in a future post)... but what I'd really like to reflect on is how the internet paints a picture that real life doesn't match...

Warzone Resurrection is a radically new version of the old Warzone game and uses computer design and 3D printing to produce some excellent miniatures. I have seen many of the renders on line and have also purchased some of them (three Vulkans) but today, I learned a valuable truth...

... The internet lies!

What!? I hear you cry. Yes, you heard me; the internet lies.

The one thing the internet can't provide is a true reflection of the 'presence' of things. You can get an idea of the size and measurements of a miniature... or even comparisons with other miniature types but in order to really get an idea of how the miniature looks and feels... you need to see it in the flesh. This was highlighted to me today when I visited the Warzone Resurrection stand at Overlord. In their display cabinet, they had a rather imposing, resin mech called an Eradicator. I have seen it on line before but wrote it off for being 'gangly' and ungainly. Well, I got the opportunity to pick one up and get the feel of it, turn it over in my hands and generally decide how it really looked... and it was much more imposing than the website could possibly show. Fortunately, it wasn't for sale at the event (or I would have been in trouble) but it has certainly been elevated to something I want to buy. I also think that it could possibly double as a Knight titan with the addition of a proper head... but hey... what do I know? The only problem I have now is finding the money to buy one!

That is about it for today.

See you from the race track!