WINDOWS and DOORS!

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week has been quite productive with lots going on so I won't waste any time and I'll get on with it.

After just over a year in our house, the windows and doors are being replaced. They were the bane of my life over the winter and I will be glad to see the back of the howling gales and damp that was a result of our terribly fitted windows and doors. This week, the fitters have been in and everything has been replaced apart from the back door and side panel (which will be getting done on Monday). The difference is amazing.

It's funny how a house full of tradesmen inspires a bit of work... as a result, I have been sculpting commissions and other bits and bobs... but sadly, not too much that I can show off yet. I do have this though:

Click the Pix!

It isn't too far along but it is a converted GW Cold One who will eventually become a sci-fi Lizard-man with heavy weapon. There are three more that will also get the sci-fi treatment but that will be in-between other sculpting work.

In other hobby news, I have been sent a couple of casts of my Berserker and last night, I decided to paint one:

Click the Pic!

His name is Steppen Odinson... and here is his story (you will need to open in a new tab/window to read it):

Right click and open in new tab to read!

While I was painting the Berserker, I used one of GW's painting handles and I am really chuffed at how easy it was to use. I would recommend getting one and I think at £5.00, it is a bargain... well worth the money.

So... what's on the table at the moment? Well...

• Commission: 5 Squat bodies.
• Commission: Squat heavy weapon gunner.
• Commission: Goblin leader.
• Charity: Squat Living Ancestor.
• My stuff: Lizard, 2 Bullgryn, Predator team (movie Squats).

What is my focus on? At the moment, in this order:

1. Commission: Squat heavy weapon gunner.
2. Charity: Squat Living Ancestor.
3. Commission: Goblin.
4. Lizard.
5. Commission: 5 Squat bodies.
6. Other stuff.

I would prefer all the commissions to be at the top but my mojo is just starting to reappear at the moment so I expect to be able to improve my commission rate very soon. That is just the way the cookie crumbles.

So... Monday will see the end of the window/door fitting and I can get a few things sorted out... which probably means 'house jobs' so my hobby time will reduce... but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

See you through clear windows!

A week of Dread!

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

This week has been pretty sleepless... apart from one tablet night... so I have been restricted in what I could get on with. That said... I have been pottering on with things... but first...

The Halfling snipers are available to buy, in metal from here:

CP Models

I have also sold my competition sculpt and it has been cast up in metal and may become available at some point. Here's the Original miniature and the metal version (photo is from the purchaser):

Click the Pix!

What I have been doing is putting the proceeds of the various miniature sales to good use, donating to various charities. One such charity is Cancer Research and I have helped my wife's work-place to enter a team of runners into the Race for Life, through the sale of my Squat Exo-Armour legs and the Competition Sculpt. If you wish to help further, here is a link to the donation page:

Race for Life Donation Page

I guess it's time to start talking about hobby progress. This week, as I have mentioned, wasn't the best for maintaining hobby focus so I have kept away from commissions because, quite frankly, I don't want to ruin what I have already got so far with. When I work on my own stuff, I only have myself to worry about so that is what I have been doing this week. I have been slowly pottering along with my Dreadnoughts and have finished them. Here's what I ended up with:

Click the Pic!

... and when there was a break in the weather, I managed to get a coat of primer on them both:

Click the Pic!

With those two as finished as they can be at the moment (I don't have the paint I need to start painting them with), I tried a bit of sculpting but failed miserably... so I decided to brave the attic and see what I could find. As it happened, I found some T'au Fire Warriors and Stealth Suits, some Dark Elf lizard riders and some Mantic Orks that I started converting into Bullgryn a while ago. Recently, I was looking on EBay and I found a lot that contained a host of Bullgryn/Ogryn weapons so I bought it. Knowing that I had these weapons on hand, I quickly got to work on the only converted Ork and added some of the weapons, ending up with this:

Click the Pic!

At the moment, he is not finished; he still needs a bit of filling and a few details to be added. In the meantime, I have started on the second one but he is at a very early stage so I don't have any pics. The sad thing is that I have three identical miniatures and they are made of Restic (which is a bugger to work with) so I will need to put a lot of work/thought in to making them suitably different to one another. One thing I am thinking of doing, is making a couple of female Bullgryn... that will certainly make them different. In the end, I should have a functional squad of five Bullgryn to add to my Squat army.

So... T'au and big lizards... You wouldn't think they would be compatible at all, would you? Well, I have recently become interested in Pinterest and during my travels, I came across this little beauty:

Click the Pic!

I think it is an excellent idea and although I would do things a little differently, it is something that I am keen to have a go at.

I think that is about everything. 

See you from the spawning ground!

Well... that was a week.

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week, has been one of sleepless nights, low motivation and pottering along.

It was great to see my son, who came down for most of the week to visit us. It was the first time in ages he visited alone so we were able to chat about a lot of things without the need for socialising with everybody. That was something that really needed to happen because we hadn't really spoken much about my dad, his grand dad, passing away and the emotional complications the loss of a loved one causes. We were able to share all the questions and try to find answers and I think that we were both the wiser for it.

We had a nice little family get together on Tuesday. We were treated to a meal by our children and had a lovely time at a local restaurant. It was a Mother's Day gift from them, while my son was visiting.

A few other family things happened... some good and some not so good... but it was quite an eventful week.

A lack of sleep has meant that I haven't really managed to get very much hobby work done this week... especially commissions (I really don't want to mess up the good progress I have made on them). All I have done is tinker with the two dreadnoughts and this is where I am at, as of yesterday:

Click the Pic!

I am working to finish off the bodies before I start to finish off the arms. They are getting there.

What about the rugby? There's not a lot to say about it really. England have discovered that they need to work together, better... I very much doubt if they have another win in their pocket for next week and I think that Eddy Jones has his work cut out. That aside... after a Friday night in the pub and a 'to hell with it' day in the pub watching the rugby yesterday, today is all about food shopping and a Sunday roast and little else.

That's it for today. 

See you from the spire!

After the thaw.

Hello and welcome to Inso's World.

What can I say about this week? Well, for starters, this happened:

Yes, we had snow in Cornwall and ended up getting a good few inches of it so there has been a lot of disruption. My wife ended up having a couple of days off work and we pretty much hunkered down and only popped out once or twice for a few items of shopping. Luckily, all the snow has gone now so everything should get back to normal for the coming week.

Most of this week has been about commissions. All of my hobby time from Monday to Thursday, was spent sculpting stuff for other people. Here's where I am at (goblin at the top, Squat below and 5 Squat bodies below that):

Click the Pix!

Friday, I woke up very tired so I decided not to sculpt and instead, began the process of converting the Kastelan robots into Squat dreadnoughts. After a couple of days, I have got the basic shape sorted out and now need to start adding the details:

Click the Pic!

I wanted to give the dreadnoughts a few design elements from Rogue Trader so have given them shoulder pads like those found on the Squat Exo Armour and have tried to make the bodies similar to those found on the old Rogue Trader dreadnoughts. There is still a way to go but I think they look pretty good so far.

In other news, the Exo Armour legs that I sculpted have now been sold and are on their way to America. That means that both of my casting experiments have now moved on to other owners.

I think that's about it for now.

See you from the igloo!

Sculpting and other things.

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week has mostly been about sculpting. First of all, I finished my competition sculpt so I am now free to get on with other things:

Click the Pic!

He is a Squat (Space Dwarf) Berserker. I have kept him fairly neutral in genre so that he can be used for fantasy by removing his holstered pistol. I have sent pictures off so he can be judged and depending on the out come, he will either be cast as part of the competition or I'll get him cast up for sale at some point, through 'Inso's Diminutive Emporium'.

I have now got time to work on other things... but it seems that I have been overrun by commissions lately. I currently have ten sculpts that need to be finished (3 Goblins and 7 Squats). I have six on the corks at the moment and of those six, the Goblin is the furthest along:

Click the Pic!

He's going to be a grumpy officer, telling his minions how it is. He has moved on slightly from this picture but not much further. The other five sculpts (on the corks) are all Squats and I have got as far as bulking out the armatures and adding feet to them. As these get finished, I have a further two Squats and two Goblins to add to the corks. As you can probably tell, I have all the commissions I need at the moment and won't be taking any more on until these are all finished and I have had a chance to decompress with some of my own stuff.

With my own stuff in mind, The Aether Navigator has arrived and is tucked away, ready for conversion. I have also decided that I need to build a couple of proper Squat dreadnoughts so I have bought a set of Kastelan robots for the purpose; which is also tucked away, ready to be converted. Obviously, I still have the Predator team to finish but at the moment, commissions are taking up all my sculpting time, so that will have to wait as well.

In other news, I managed to see the doctor and have better pain control now. I also had the window survey done and am waiting for the team to start fitting new windows in March. Saturday, I travelled up country with my wife to see the in-laws which was tiring, but lovely to see the family. Today, I am pretty sore but well rested for a change.

This coming week will be all about commissions and possibly a few chores that have been gathering... so it is likely to be busy.

There is also the prospect of some very cold weather, snow and ice next week... so it will be interesting to say the least.

Well... that's about it for today.

See you from the dragon's cave!

Interesting things...

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

It has been an interesting week. In fact, it has been one of happenings and things getting done.

To start with, I have talked to some local, reputable and recommended, double glazing people and this coming week I start the process of getting new windows installed in the house (the survey/measuring starts on Friday). That means that in a few weeks, we should have functioning windows that have vents and can open and shut without having to be sealed shut to stop the gales blowing through. It will be lovely!

I managed to get out on the motor bike this week too. I had a lovely couple of hours pottering about. I went over to Marazion and sat with a coffee while watching horses gallop along the beach and kite-surfers playing on the waves. I also popped over to the dealer where I got my bike from and they have my windscreen in so I have arranged to get that fitted when it comes to first service time.

In my hobby world, I have been getting quite a lot of sculpting and converting done this week. First up, I ordered some alien creatures from Fenris Games and when they arrived, they were smaller than expected... so I decided to have a play and see what I could do and managed to come up with this:

Click the Pic!

It's likely to be a one-off but I guess even Halfling snipers need to get places and not be tired.

Next up, I have managed to convert and prime three Demiurg:

Click the Pic!

These guys all have helmets and keep to the same idea as the other ones; mechanic, drone-controller and leader. These are going to form part of a new idea for my Demiurg army; they will be Air Guilders...

I have decided to have separate war-guilds for my Demiurg: 

Earth Guild: The leading guild that operates on the surface of a planet and has ground troops and drones. It has overall control of the three war guilds. These Demiurg tend not to wear helmets. Their colour is green.

Air Guild: This guild operates drones and machines that fight in the air and space. These Demiurg tend to wear helmets. Their colour is blue.

Subterranean Guild: This guild operates troops, drones and machines that fight below the surface of a planet and in the seas. These Demiurg tend to wear heavy armour and reinforced helmets. Their colour is brown/orange... like iron oxide/rust.

That's it for now but it's a start. In order to get some Subterranean guilders converted, I have ordered one of THESE to act as a starting point for a heavy armour conversion. I have ideas about what direction I want to take it in but I won't say anything just yet because I am fickle and those ideas may change.

With sculpting in mind, I have also been ticking along with my commissions and also Dutch from my Predator unit so sculpting wise, it has been a really good week.

In other news... I decided to sell my Halfling Sniper greens:

Click the Pix!

I have kept aside all of the casts I need for my army and will likely dispose of the rest. I got Rob over at Hysterical Games to send the greens back and once they were in my possession again, I offered them up and they have been bought (and received) by CP Models. They will be produced in metal and will be available when they have enough new miniatures to fill a spin-cast mould... so keep an eye on them for any news.

So... this coming week, I am off to the doctors to talk about pain control and see if they can prescribe something to take the edge off my shoulder pain... then maybe I can get back on track and get some focus again. I have the window people coming on Friday and I have plenty of sculpting to be getting on with so it should be a good week... it'll be even better if I can get a few miles in on the bike as well.

See you from the duck pond! 

Focus... focus... focus...

Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.

This week has been a pretty strange one, with snow coming to make an appearance in Cornwall. Obviously, Cornwall ground to a halt because of ice on the roads so it was definitely an interesting week, weather wise.

The band on Friday at the Rodney, Helston was really good... they were called Bache and had a nice mix of familiar music and their own songs. It was a great evening.

I have decided that it is time to get the windows sorted... the mould from not having heating for two weeks has really highlighted the condensation problem so I have a 'Colin' popping around next week to talk about new double glazing. I knew it was something that needed to be replaced so it isn't a surprise... it's just going to be the biggest expense so far (outside of the mortgage).

I am SERIOUSLY getting itchy feet. Not actually... but metaphorically. I am getting to a point where I am going to have to get a job for my sanity. I reckon that once the windows are sorted, a job will be the next thing on my agenda... and it is likely to be in elderly care; starting on the lowest rung of the ladder and working up. I just hope that my shoulder doesn't make finding employment too difficult. I guess we'll see.

Hobby wise, I have spent most of my sculpting time on a competition sculpt. It is a Squat Berserker and currently looks like this:

Click the Pic!

All that I need to do now is sculpt his head, tidy up the hammer head, fatten up his thighs a bit and add a basing tab and he's finished. He should be ready for the blog next week. 

Along with the competition sculpt, I have quite a few other sculpts on the go... all have taken a back seat while I focus on the competition sculpt because, for some reason, I can't seem to be able to work on more than one sculpt at a time (hence the title of this blog post). Here is what my workbench looks like at the moment:

Click the Pic!

The ones labeled 'Squat' and 'Goblin' are all commissions and will be getting all the love, once I have finished the competition sculpt. Top right, you'll notice that the Demiurg with the helmet has been primed so he may see some paint fairly soon... who knows?

One problem I am facing at the moment is that my shoulder pain is not helping me sleep at all and that means that my mind is in overdrive. It is a double edged sword because I get lots of ideas but it also means I can lose focus and forget stuff. It also means that I don't have the dexterity to do fine sculpting so I have to be picky about what I do... so working on MY stuff is preferable to commission stuff because I am not going to mess up stuff for other people. OK... it may mean it takes longer to get the commissions done but at least I know that I have been at my best when I am working on them.

Well... that's it for now.

See you through gritted teeth!