Reflection.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again. I was going to do a review of 2021 and wax lyrical on the pros and cons of the year... but I have decided that it would be really miserable so I am not going to. However, there were a few things that happened that are worth talking about so I'll get those out of the way before launching into my plans for 2022. That said... lets get on with 2021...

Hobby Stuff.

This year has seen the completion of the Space Dwarf Project with Macrocosm Miniatures. This project had a number of set goals and I deliberately placed a limit on what I wanted to achieve. Since the completion, I have agreed to a few other bits and bobs but they are outside of the project (even though they will form part of the range). It took me over 18 months to complete but I am really proud of the fact that, for a change, I managed to remain focused enough to get so many miniatures created. 

Click the Pix!

There were also four special weapons and four heavy weapons that are not pictured. For me, this is one of the things that I wanted to achieve as a 'bucket list' item... I have done what I have always said I wanted to and created a range of Space Dwarfs that were varied enough to create an army with... and they are available for others to enjoy as well.

In the last few months, things have tailed off a bit so I had the space to knock up an "emergency" miniature for the Frothers Unite UK table at Salute and this led to starting up contact with "Dear Tony Blair" miniatures; with the initial stages being a miniature sculpt and a small conversion kit... with a second miniature as a WIP. I am hoping that I am able to create the caricatures well enough for them to be included in the range but we'll just have to see how things go.

During this year, I have also tried (and failed) to come up with some suitable vehicle designs for my army. The good thing is that, with each failure, I am getting closer to what I want... so it is positive (in a way).

My Megaro Zamac collection is now complete! I have all of the old '80s kits from the range and they have been safely stored away for when I need them. They were always a 'retirement' project so it's just a case of deciding when to retire.

More mecha madness arrived with a bunch of Votoms, Dougram and Macross kits joining the household. These will eventually become a group of Space Dwarf mechs but I have been too caught up in sculpting to get a proper start on them.

Chaos reared its ugly head this year, with the arrival of a small bunch of Chaos conversions for the blood God; Khorne. Not something I'd usually do but I felt an itch and I scratched it.

Other hobby stuff came and went but never really got a foot hold... but the main thing that has been going on has been lots of sleepless nights, mulling over different design ideas for various little projects and that means that next year could be quite exciting.

Life.

Family and friends have been exceptionally important. Without them and their tolerance, I don't know how I would have got through the year...

Anyway... to cut a long story short... due to me being at home a lot more than I am used to, I have needed things to keep me on track. I got quite into "Twitch" and also "Stream Raiders" (a game linked to Twitch) and they were very handy time-soaks for when I couldn't do what I wanted to. Add to that, Poppy and I reckon that, outside hobby time and chores, my days have been pretty full.

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Sadly, I haven't been able to get out very much, on my motorbike but when I have been able to, I have really enjoyed it. Luckily, it still runs and is recently serviced and MOTd so it is just a case of having the right mojo to ride. It still looks gorgeous as well.

2022... Hobby stuff.

Without going too into things, I hope to continue working with Macrocosm Miniatures with occasional sculpts to add to the Space Dwarf range. I also hope to 'get my foot in the door' with Dear Tony Blair and sculpt a few more caricatures for them. I quite enjoy a bit of caricature sculpting so I am hoping that I can reach the required standard (can the little people be recognised for who they are supposed to be?). On top of that, I am hoping (as I do every year) to design some modular vehicles that cater to Space Dwarf units but, as history will tell, this is just a hope, not a certainty... However the main focus in 2022 will be...

The year of the beast

... so keep an eye out for updates.

2022... Life.

I hope that things improve around the world in 2022. I also plan to get to grips with my Long COVID and bother the doctors to find out A) what is damaged and B) what can be done to improve my symptoms. This will be done early in the new year and will be essential to me getting back to work. It'll be frustrating but it has to be done. 

That's about it. I hope I haven't been too miserable because this has taken three goes to write (even I was getting miserable with the last two goes). 

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year and hope that next year will be a shit-ton better than 2021 has been.

Take care.

See you from the gate... but DON'T approach, I've thrown a grenade in there... we don't want a repeat of all that nonsense...

The continuing saga...

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It's been a while but time, like a river, flows... and to be honest, my river has been full-on, white water.

As mentioned in my last post, I finished the big Space Dwarf project and ended up with an army of troops. This army has been fettled and based and is in the progress of being painted but I have been distracted a little with other things. As a result, this is the current state of my army:

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It can be considered "paint in progress" but I have been tinkering with other things so it will be an "as and when" thing.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was putting together a little squad of Khorne-based troops... and that's what happened. I now have eight finished troops with a final one on hold until I can decide how to take it forward. When it is finished, I will post a pic of the whole group but here's an idea of what some of them look like, all painted up:

Click the Pic!

As well as a bit of Chaos, I was asked to put together a sniper to finish off the special weapon selections for the Space Dwarf army so I converted one:

Click the Pic!

I have also been asked to sculpt some close combat specialists that will be separate from the big project, although they could be used as Sgts... and I am sculpting a DJ (musician) that will also be separate BUT they are in a very early stage so there are no images to show off yet.

In other news, I was recently asked to quickly sculpt a character miniature for the Frothers Unite UK game at Salute... so I did as I was asked and came up with this:

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It was a quick sculpt to represent Dominic Cummins as a Gollum type character. It was duly sent off and used in the game but in the meantime, interest was expressed and deals were done... and I ended up sculpting another one to fit in with the Politicos range of miniatures... this being the outcome:

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With this sculpt being more of a caricature, I was able to try and replicate the face better... not perfect but a brave attempt. I was able to get the size correct because I was kindly sent some specimens to use for reference... and one of the miniatures that I was sent called out for a bit of conversion:

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I call it the "Lying Warmonger"... and as a result there is a conversion kit in progress (two horns and a tail) and I have been asked to sculpt another caricature as well... so it looks like I am working with another miniatures company... which is nice.

That's about it... mostly because it's coming up to Christmas and I like to put a post up for the New Year.

Health wise, I'm ticking along... the cold/wet weather has kept me in the house a bit more than I'd like (bad lungs) but I have obviously been kept busy with sculpting so it hasn't been all bad.

The only thing left for me to say is Merry Christmas to you all.

See you from the dock of the bay!

Sam and Poppy today:

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A bit of an update.

 Hello again and welcome to Inso's World. 

It's been a few months since my last post but things have been ticking along; even though it may have been a bit slower than usual.

Life is okay...my mental/physical health has been a bit up and down but when things are good, I am managing to create and do okay... at other times, I do what I can.

Poppy has really settled in and has become my little friend. She is growing nicely and has really developed her personality. She can be completely crazy at times but she always seeks company and loves to have cuddles and lap time.

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We are now looking to get her neutered so we don't have to worry about her having kittens. Our three other cats tolerate her... she is very full-on at times so in time I'm confident they'll get on better.

Hobby stuff has been pretty good too. As I mentioned in my last post, all of the sculpting for the big Space Dwarf project is complete and now, I have all of the miniatures in my possession so I am in the process of cleaning up the last batch of troops, ready for the big "army organisation day"... when I arrange all the troops into their designated positions and make sure that I get a varied mix of poses in the process. 

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While I was waiting for the last batch of troops to arrive, I was not idle. I decided to make myself present in the army and converted one of the Dwarf Officers to represent me:

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It'll act as a proxy Air Force Advisor in the company command squad. When I had finished this one, I also decided to have a bit of fun and convert another officer and this is what I came up with:

Click the Pix!

It'll act as a Captain in the army but will most likely just be for show.

On a slightly different note, I decided to take a little bit of a detour towards Chaos and have been converting a small group of miniatures to be followers of Khorne, the blood god. Again, this is just for fun but it was also a nice little palate cleanser. I haven't finished them yet but there will be eight in total... here are the first three:

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They aren't going to be particularly demonic... just 'flavoured' a bit. Once they are all finished, I'll post a little bit of background on them... just to add even more flavour.

Finally, I have returned the Storm Lord to the work bench and have been getting a bit of filling done...

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So far, I have filled a few gaps, contoured the window frames, added the hull heavy bolters and made a wall with a doorway to allow access to the rear firing deck. In the image, the little las-cannon turrets have been removed, just so they didn't fall off during the work (they will be refitted at some point).

So... as you can see, I haven't been idle.

In other news, I am also sculpting a miniature for a friend so that it can be used in a game that is being played at Salute this year... again, once it's done, I'll post images.

So... what have I got planned next? Mostly, finishing things off... most likely in something like this order (depending on mood):

1 - Finish the Salute sculpt.

2 - Clean, base and prime the remaining batch of troops for the army project.

3 - Finish the little Chaos project (sculpting).

4 - Arrange the troops for the army project and number everything, ready for painting units.

5 - GET PAINTING!!!!

6 - Start thinking about the next unit for Macrocosm Miniatures (Close Combat Dwarfs).

After all that, you'd think I'd run out of stuff to talk about... well... you're right!

See you from the naughty step!

At journey's end... before we start the next one.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

A lot has happened recently and I thought I'd pop a post up to share all the good news.

First of all, after nearly six months, I have finally started to feel like my old self again. I am able to breathe much better, don't have a cough and can walk around without feeling faint. This has made me much happier and now I can even start planning things. The Long Covid was tough... but thankfully, I have had lots of support from friends, family and my psychotherapist and now I can properly see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still need to get my strength back (sitting for five + months has made me unfit) but I am back!

Part of the journey has been me quitting my job at the care home. Covid hit the home hard and I couldn't face returning to all the empty chairs. As a result, I am jobless but will use the time wisely to catch up with all the things I've put off for the last six months. The stress that has been removed from me has had a massive, healing effect... now I just need to decide what job I will try next.

In other news, we are getting a new family member soon... a little kitten called Poppy. She isn't big enough to join us yet but we have met her and we are really looking forward to her joining us in about three weeks. Here's a tiny Poppy (with a very tired me):

Click the Pic!

Down to the big news, now... I have finished the Space Dwarf project! After 16 months and a lot of sculpting, I have finally finished off the list. That is 41 miniatures and 8 separate special/heavy weapons. I am very happy to have it finished and am planning to take a bit of a break before I launch into the next big thing. Here is a collage of all the miniatures (without the separate weapons):

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With these all sculpted, I just have a few to get back from casting and then I'll send off the last batch... and I'll be able to focus on getting some painting done.

So what's next (apart from painting this army)? Well... there are a few character figures that need to be added (Engineseer, Servitors, Artillery Officer, Naval Officer and [possibly] a psyker) and a squad of Close Combat Troopers... but I am in no rush for those at the moment... and I also want to create some Beastmen at some point so I may have finished one project but I haven't given up!

So things are pretty positive at the moment and the future is looking much brighter.

See you from the front of the queue!

I can see the finish line!

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

Nothing has changed, outside of the hobby so I'm going to get straight to the point... I have nearly finished my Space Dwarf Project.

From the beginning, the plan was to create a range of miniatures that I could build an infantry company with... and have a small amount of support for it. That would mean that I needed about a hundred miniatures. 

I have never felt that all of the miniatures needed to be unique... in fact, I was hoping to get multiple casts of each miniatures to mix and match throughout the company.

So the plan for the company was to have a command squad, three infantry platoons and three heavy weapon squads to support the platoons. This in turn, led to the following list of required miniatures:

So far, I have sculpted 35 out of a planned 42 miniatures and with a few head-swaps that Chris has done for the heavy weapon trooper, I have nearly got all of the required miniatures finished... and the ones that need finishing are just conversions of casts.

Since I last posted on here, I have finished a Colonel:

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He is armed with a plasma pistol and a master crafted power glove. If you look closely at the power glove you may notice that it may resemble something from a completely different franchise.

I have also finished a Captain with a dog for company:

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This is my favourite sculpt of the project and I can't wait to get it painted up... I may even convert one a little so that I can join my army myself !

Finally, I emptied my work-bench by head-swapping a few Lasgunners: 

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... and after a bit of base tabbing and tidying, these have now been packed up, ready to be sent to Macrocosm Miniatures for casting:

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Once I get the previous batch of casts, I can convert the last seven miniatures for the project (3 Comms-Troopers and 4 Lasgunners)... and it will be finished! 42 miniatures will have been created and turned into a range. Over a year's work! Finished...

... well... is it, though?

See you from the party table!

Space Dwarfs... Faaahhssands of em.

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World.

Today's post is just one to put together a list of Space Dwarf miniatures that are currently available. It will not be a complete list but it will most certainly be a starter for ten. It doesn't cover 3d files... just miniatures.

1. Macrocosm Miniatures have a number of different styles of Space Dwarf in their sci-fi ranges.

2. Grekwood Miniatures have a single space Dwarf.

3. Gydran Miniatures have a wide range of Space Dwarfs, including power armour and robots to go with them.

4. Hasslefree Miniatures have the Grymn which also have powered armour to bolster the standard troopers.

5. CP Miniatures have Runts, which are a range of Space Dwarfs.

6. Battle Valour Games have a few squads of Space Dwarfs in their sci-fi range (you'll need to scroll for them and they are spread over a couple of pages).

7. Wereweevil Miniatures have a nice range of Space Dwarfs with classic style Exo-Armour (Egg Bots).

8. Forge World have a couple of Squats in their Necromunda range.

9. Bridge Miniatures have Dvargs in their Mutants and Madmen range.

10. Mantic Games have Forge Fathers for various games.

11. Hardcore Miniatures have some new Dwarfs on the way.

12. Wargames Atlantic have Einherjar kits.

13. Uscarl Miniatures have a squad of Space Dwarfs.

14. Ramshackle Games have some Dwarfs... including bikers.

15. Scibor Miniatures have a range of larger sized Dwarfs.

16. Grim Forge has a couple of Space Dwarf items.

17. Old School Miniatures has a Space Dwarf and a bunch of Chaos Space Dwarfs as well.

18. Kromlech have Dvergr Dwarf Commandos (you'll need to scroll to find them).

19. Victoria Miniatures have a Dwarf character.

20. Black Cat Bases have a range called the B'dass, by Moonfleet Miniatures... scroll down on the link.

21. TBC

This list will be updated as I find more miniatures on my travels through the interweb.

See you from the scout party!

News from the front.

 Hello again. Welcome to Inso's World.

Keeping the boring stuff short... I still have long Covid... it is still causing me issues and preventing me from returning to work... I am fed up of it and want it to end but it is just a matter of patience.

As I've mentioned before, I am still able to get things done so I have been spending most of my time geeking-out on the internet, sculpting and doing a few chores. I am trying to get out for walks on a regular basis but they are a mixed bag and can be quite a struggle.

There is one thing that I have found, that has been really important to me and that is Twitch. Twitch (if you didn't know) is an on-line, game-streaming site that has a chat function so you can communicate with the live streamer. Being stuck at home on my own a lot is a lonely business but Twitch has enabled me to make friends with people all over the world and has also filled the void of not having people around all the time... so if you are feeling lonely or just fancy watching some video games, I'd recommend it.

Link to Twitch: TWITCH

Now let's get on to the sculpting side of things. 

The last Kick-Starter for my sculpts (plus a couple of others) was run over the last few weeks and has now finished. It ended up doing pretty well and can be viewed here:

Link to Kick-Starter: Kick-Starter

Seeing as sitting on my arse is something I can do, I have managed to get a lot of sculpting done, over the last couple of months. It started with the Standard Bearer that I showed off in my last blog post and moved on from there... 

The first couple of sculpts to be finished were a Trooper with Heavy Flamer and a Lasgunner:

Click the Pix!

I wanted the Trooper with Heavy Flamer to look cheerful and the Lasgunner to look bored or reflective and I think they worked out okay. The next couple of sculpts were a pair of Medics:

Click the Pix!

The idea behind the two Medics was that they carried pistols to defend themselves and those under their care and also enable them to carry more kit. One of them has taken this to an excessive level and the other is more able to dash about and is signalling to a wounded Trooper to "stay where you are and take cover" so that he has extra time to get to him. 

Following on from these two, I sculpted a Trooper, throwing a grenade:

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This sculpt was a direct response to forum feedback. Someone suggested that I should make a Trooper throwing a Grenade and a few people agreed... so I sculpted one. You will also notice a Heavy Weapon Trooper in the above image. He is one of the original ones that I sculpted a while ago but he is carrying a newly built weapon; an Auto-Cannon. I needed to finish the Auto-Cannon so that all of the Codex Heavy Weapon options were covered (along with the Heavy Flamer Trooper). After this, I noticed that I only needed one more Lasgunner pose to complete the Lasgunner poses on my list so I converted one at "high-port-arms":

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Once the last of the Lasgunners were finished, I packed up the little group and sent them off for casting/production to Macrocosm Miniatures...

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After sending off the miniatures, it was time to take stock and see what was left... and it turned out that I have 14 sculpts/conversions to finish for the basic list I have prepared. These are:

1x Colonel

1x Captain

3x Comms conversions 

9x Lasgunner conversions

Once I receive casts of my latest batch of sculpts, I will have all of the bodies needed for the remaining conversions (including a few that are on my workbench) and then I can take a pause before embarking on the next wave of miniatures (a Close Combat Squad, Engineseer, Servitors and Advisors) but I haven't drawn up a list yet so that I remain focussed on the current project. 

As it stands, I am working on a Captain for now and will be putting new heads on a bunch of Lasgunners while working on the Colonel. During this process I will be deciding which additional Lasgunners will get a Comms Set... so there is still a bit of work to be done.

PHEW! 

In other news, I have bought another box of Kastelan Robots to play about with and will be converting them into smaller, engineering suits... Not to mention there has been some work going on with some mecha... but that will be for another time.

In the meantime...

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Stay safe, follow the Covid restrictions and look after the ones you love.

See you from the front line!