Gelfin's Cabinet

All Steamed up

2010-08-29T14:34:00.002+01:00

So I'm back in the saddle after a good while. I went over to Bury St Edmunds two weekends ago to be at the opening of Apocalypse Miniature Wargaming. A great shop that I really hope the local Wargamers will support Jon and Bev in their endeavour as the Shop comes as a welcome relief after the local drought created by Runik's untimely end.
I entered four of my Warmachine ladies into the opening day Painting contest. I was up against some stiff competition from EldarVeteran's Demon of Wrath and Nick's Ork Stompa, but my girls prevailed in the end, Yaaah!!!!
I chose a new Helljack plastic kit and the Mk II Merc's gaming Deck as my prize. Many thanks to Jon and Bev for the opportunity and prize, and the Cameron for his help in the judging (Your money transfer will go through this week, teehee)
So I have gotten back into the figurines, finishing off some incomplete models first before venturing on. I had a Trencher UA and Blister plus Capt. Finn to finish off in my 'cold' Cygnar colours. They all got done this weekend and I will post pics here and on the PP forum as soon as the bases are complete.
The Bury Wargamers are having their birthday weekend on the 25th September, so I will be entering the Battle Scarred painting contest with the very model on the header. My heavily converted Talon, :)
And so I will venture on into Warmachine MkII and see how it all goes. A thrashing is in the waiting I believe. They still look good as they die tho'
G

Changing Gears

2009-12-19T13:38:00.003Z

Hi all,
I'll be changing tack soon over here. I haven't been doing much figurine modelling latley, concentrating on military models instead. I'm busy with a SAS willy's jeep used in Normandy (Caen) before and during the D-Day landing time period. Include a resin radio-set, a BMW R12 motorbike and sidecar. Three SAS 'Commando's', and a couple of Maquis French resistance fighters and we have a scene set.

I'll let you know what happens next,
Cheers
G

Car-less Painting

2009-03-16T18:23:00.004Z

Well it's almost a month since I last updated, and I'm not very much further along with the paintwork. The weather has improved greatly, and warranted a bit of gardening. I'm no closer to finishing Haley yet, just staring at her...there's so little left to do but I'll have to mix up about 8 different paints just to complete her, Meh!
Ashlynn, on the other hand, is coming along nicely.

I have completed the base piece. Built up with plasticard to form two steps and then covered with Std Milliput and sculpted into cobbled stones.

I plan to add a Khadoran flag draped over the steps, with Ashlynn's foot on top of it. The 'blank' piece of steps is where I know the flag will cover, so I didn't bother sculpting there. Symbolic and also for the vast colour shift to make her little self pop a bit more on the Battlefield. I didn't want to go with a huge base-piece like I've seen some people use.i.e. it still fits the 30mm edge, but buggers off vertically for about an Inch. I went right up to the edge of the base at the 'back' of the piece so that I could steal an extra 7mm of footspace for Miss d'Elyse. This gave me a whole lot more room to 'move' when it comes to laying down the flag and positioning her on the base. It will all have to be planned rather carefully as her skirt comes down rather low at the back.

I've tried to keep her armour looking utalitarian, and so I added in varying degrees of grey into the metallic steel that I was layering onto her armour. It's left it with a sheen and a silver highlight, but it's not bright.

I changed up her Stack, by adding the spiked tip of the Hunter's Axe (Light 'jack). I cut it down and hollowed it out. It looks more like her art from Matt Wilson now. The horsehair plume is a sculpt, using a thick wire 'arm' glued into her helmet and then adding thin sausages of GS and sculpting them gently into strands with a silicon tipped 'paint shaper'. I'm very happy with the plume as it's my first attempt at a major change to a figurine. The helmet is a Steelhead, reversed and with the face smoothed over with GS.

I am also working on another piece that I can't really show off with yet, or post any info on for a few reasons. I've it some time and it'll be up here soon.
See ya
G

Steelhead Ashlynn

2009-02-21T19:42:00.000Z

So here I begin with Ashlynn d'Elyse and a Blister of Steelheads. I would have been into them earlier, but was missing some parts in the blister pack. I had received an extra torso, but no right arm with Halberd, so I had to contact PP eurodesk and get them to send me the missing bits, only took six days, and I'm majorly impressed with them.
So...it was obvious that her poppet head had to go, and the saw made short work of that. I was able to get the head off intact and may use it at a later stage, but in the process I cut through her steam-stack at an angle and sheared off the top of the stack. I rebuilt it more like the painting that Matt Wilson did in NQ #19. I used the spiked tip off the Hunter Warjack's axe, which I cut off and then pinned and mounted on her stack. I then cut away (and saved) the tip of the spike and drilled the new hole in the top. Her Steelhead head had to be filed for a better fit from underneath, and I refined the edges to be narrower thus making the helmet look a little smaller. It's still early in the process, but she's coming together very nicely. All the mold lines are gone now, and it's just pinning and gluing left really. I will be sculpting a horse-hair plume for her helmet, this will help her to stand out more, and add a sense of movement to the figure that is mirrored by her arms and the folding of her 'skirt'.

MK II.......WooooT!

2009-02-19T17:07:00.000Z

Well, that's possibly thrown a massive spanner into the mechanika!!
MK II on the horizon. The biggst question for me, and a lot of folks on the PP Forum is: "Will we see any other Retribution before MK II is released?"
There is a general concensus that says that PP will still release the models in the 'old' format, with a new deck and extra models coming in early 2010. I sure as shinola hope so, since I'm holding out for them.
My car has gone and Died on me, and so until I am mobile again, I'm kinda stuck at the painting desk. My LGC is just too far to walk, and buses don't run past silly o' clock in the evening. (20 miles is a stiff amble at best!) So this means that there will be more going through the grist mill of my painting station. Luckily for me I am a compulsive figurine buyer, and have built up a nice little 'egg' of stock to paint my way through until I can get some more. Not that I couldn't order more from stores online, mind you, but the idea is to afford another car before the summer, if you know what I mean!!
And so I will start my 'Car-less painting challenge'
1. 2 x Steelheads (WM)
2. Capt. Victoria Haley (WM)
3. Xmas figurine 06 (WK)
4. 2 x Trenchers (WM)
5. Trencher Master Sgt. & Sharpshooter (WM)
6. Capt. Maxwell Finn (WM)
7. Cygnar Ironclad-Light Warjack (WM)
8. Cygnar Lancer- L W'jack (WM)
9. Cygnar Hunter- L W'jack (WM)
10. 'Steelhead' Ashlynn d'Elyse (WM)
11. Epic Magnus, The Warlord (WM)
12. Khador, Old Witch & Scrapjack (WM)

Webwraith is prolly going, "Where the F*$K is Lylyth man?"
I have a small stash of other models including:
Lylyth
Gammick Redhammer
Tomb Maiden
Cygnar Stormlancer
Trollblood Caber Thrower (tosser, he!)
Arwen, from Lord of the Rings
Brahyn, Lara Croft & a 2nd Xmas 06 fig from Freebooter mini's.
There's also a beautiful pirate captain vignette from Freebooter, a limited edition that's already sold out.
SO, we'll see how it comes along, but I'll keep ya posted.

The Focus of my attention for the next while!

For now it's still Miss Haley and the 'Frankencense' wise woman on the desk, with the Trenchers and Capt. Finn being prepped. I have an alternate First Mate Hawk in the Brake Fluid, so the stripping can begin...Ravel's Bolero please maestro!!
The Ironclad is a 'battlefield' recovery job, and is in bits in a prep tray at the mo'. Same with the Lancer and Hunter light 'jacks. I need to vary the paintwork as my Cygnar force is toned down, so I'll interspace it with other more vibrant models to keep myself sane.

Never Lick Your Brushes
see ya soon
G

Back to Basics

2009-02-16T07:43:00.000Z

Well since the last post I've got the painting table up and running again, better than before actually. More streamlined and organised. It pays to have to pack up everything and then unpack and organise. It helps you to re-evaluate what is on the agenda and leave the other things packed while you enjoy stuff that you may not have seen for a year or more.
On the figurine front I am still fully engaged by the Warmachine and Hordes models, whether for my growing army or for simply painting. I am varying my models to keep myslef from burning out. I began anew with the Alt. Capt. Haley model from PP and did a bit of resculpting and used her epic figurine's arm to change her pose quite drastically considering the minimal effort.
At the same time I'm working on a Werner Klocke figurine, the Xmas 06 limited figure. Limited to 1000 each figure's base is stamped with it's number and includes a signed card with the number written on it. She represents Frankensence and is an oriental beauty with a large incense censer on chains.

Since my Cygnar army is a new start for me, that I can utilise a lot of my Merc's with, I'm back to the Battlebox and the basic units again. The Charger and Grenadier light Warjack's are complete now, and Haley, my Warcaster, is 80% done. The hardest part lies ahead...the fine details. Other than that I'm prepping a line up of Trencher troops for painting. Two basic troopers, who will be painted slightly differently to their mates as I will be using them to reload the Grenadier's Grenade launcher. Mwah ha ha ha ha! I did some research on the Queens Grenadier Guard and besides already using their Sea-grey trench coats I will be painting the front plating on the two Grenadier troops black with a white piping on the edge. This doesn't seem like much, but I think that they will stan out from the rest just a bit. The other Trenchers are the Master Sergeant and Sharpshooter. The Sharpshooter is lying over a wall of sandbags (mediocre at best) that I will be consigning to the bitz box and sculpting my own set for him. Last, but def not least, is Capt. Maxwell Finn. A mean character figurine with a mini slugger gun, an antiquaited machine gun that he slogs around with. He will offer some variety in the production line as he has some extra details that I can take advantage of. The Master Sgt only has the one set of 'wings' on his shoulder plate to designate rank, whereas Finn has many small details that I can pick out on him.
The only problem that I think I'm going to run into is the loss of impetus when it comes to the Cygnar painting. It will be my first army with a completely coherent colour scheme. It works fantastically, especially with the fluff related to the army, but is a bit boring. My own fault really in that I picked the colours of the Classic comic Batman for the army. This toned down scheme of Sea-grey, light grey and black is very striking, it lends a more sinister look to the otherwise bright Cygnar forces. ...And being a coastal force waylaying ambushes from the sea and coastline they need to blend in a bit more than the traditional Blue and Yellow. I will keep a few Merc models in the mix, since they are much more colourful and varied and will keep me from getting bored with the muted tones of my growing force.

On the Mercenary front, I have just completed a second Talon, quite a lot of converting was done on him since I had a theme going for him. He is to be Dirty Meg's (the pirate 'jack marshal) sidekick, and since I'm starting out with some Cygnar stuff and since the Talon is a decommissioned Cygnar 'jack I thought to add some bits that show where he's from, including a 'jack medal for service during the Scharde invasions. That was an interesting build as I had a week to complete it and paint it. Well I finished sealing him minutes before I left for the club this Saturday to use him in a 1000 pnt game with Cameron against Tim 'the sneak' Morris.

My next few will be a blister pack of Steelhead Halberdiers to fill my unit to 8, still not complete...but stronger. I also plan to do a Steelhead conversion of Ashlynn d'Elyse, the Laelese warcaster. Her poppet head must go!!! A shoulder plate change is in the cards as well.
However, I greatly anticipate this year's releases as I will hopefully see the beginings of my Iosan/Nyss Retribution army come to fruition.
I'll keep ya posted,
til next,
G

Oh Nine

2009-01-04T21:19:00.000Z

Hi there,
All I can say is that the last three weeks have been holiday for me...NOT!

I've just freakin' packed up my entire life into a multitude of differing boxes and shifted across the county. So while others in my LGC were planning their Xmas/Boxing day model and paint masterpieces, I was planning how to store and move all my hundreds of bits and pieces, Meh!

I've been off work since 17th Dec 08, but didn't get a single chance to touch a model (besides putting it in a box) since then 'til now 4th Jan 09.
I couldn't believe the amount of GW stuff that I have, and yet it's still not enough to field a decent sized army on the table...sad really since that kind of killed it for me an GW. I still love the figures and some of their new stuff is fantastic, but for me it'll be to paint them not field them.
Today, like one hour ago, I finally unpacked my travelling modelling essentials box back into my re-instate painting-desk. Now I feel like I'm finally unpacked, and maybe tomorrow I'll get back to some of the stuff that's on the table.
I'm really busy with a small Cygnar force that I'm basing around Capt Victoria Haley, 2nd Army Coastal defense. Early in the background fluff, actually right at the beginning of Warmachine. I bought 500 pnts of Cygnar from a young chap, Aaron, at my LGC. It included the Battle Box, a Hunter, Grenadier & Capt. Finn. As part of my Xmas presents I got my PP Parts order with all sorts of Cygnar bits and my Alternative Haley figurine, my Warcaster. I'm going to use the Epic Haley figure's left arm(thnx Tim) to change up the sculpt a bit, and flip her lance around so that it's pointing upward. I want to add Deneghra's helmet to the base since I'm placing my force around the time that Haley fights Deneghra for the first time and actually smashed her helmet from her head. In the ensuing events I find it hard to believe that she retreived her damaged helmet before taking flight.
As part of the same force I'm busy with a conversion of the Khadoran Master Mekanik, giving him a scratch-built rivet gun, strapped to his back. I intend on rounding out some of his armour and adding a Craye type slouch hat to him. I have a Gobber assistant for him (thnx Tim) and I may use the Khadoran assistant aswell, but it could take a lot of converting to get him to fit in with the Cygnar force.
I still have the Battle Box 'jacks to construct and paint, so I have 4 light jack chassis to play with, since they all have the Talon chassis they can be easily swapped out. The differing shoulder plates makes for interesting changes to otherwise staticly posed jacks. I've found that I can bend them and twist them at the waist by quite a bit before it shows in the 'pistons'. If you're wondering, because I would be...the fourth is a Talon that I'm painting for Dirty meg to marshall when aiding Cygnar. I have a Sentinel's shield for him and will be swapping the Lancer's right arm with the Talon, to change up the poses yet again. I already have a Talon in my Merc force so I want a slightly different one.
I'll be keeping this running so see you soon,
G

Summer's End

2008-10-18T08:01:00.000+01:00

Well I'm finally back here.
Been terribly busy with the Ludicrus '08 Event and the Suffolk Open Warmachine Tournament, the painting contest et al.
My Diorama 'The Challenge' placed first netting me a limited edition Ludi shirt and Bragging rights. The club didn't place many entries, and we definately didn't walk away with the majority this year. No fear, the level of painting is slowly improving, with me pushing all the way and next year should be walk-over.
The Birthday Bash was fantastic with many events happening. An Apocalypse battle (12000pnts) on the Imperial side alone, Two Titans and so many troop and armour divisions that I lost count. 'It's all gone Starship Troopers' was played again this year, with one squad of Imperial stormtroopers standing off against the 'Bug' horde, played by the ever-scary Tyranid Hive Bethesda.
Many thanks to all who put in so much in the final weeks...too many names to mention in fact. (I'm so freekin' lazy man!)
I hope to improve the Blog soon and put more of my completed stuff in the albums.
See ya soon
G

Hello Summer !

2008-06-30T11:32:00.000+01:00

Hi again,

I've been offline for quite some time, but finally I'm back again.

I'm getting ready for the Ludicrus Painting Competition, at the Ludicrus 08 event in September in Ipswich.

They have four Catagories:

Single figure

Large Figure

Pocket Diorama

Patriotism

I'm going for the Diorama for sure, and hoping to enter either the single figure or Patriotism cat. We'll have to see.

I've posted a new painting post on the Forum, about my Steelheads WM unit.

A bit of converting and a unique colour scheme.

I'll post again soon.

Finally I get back to posting...

2008-04-13T12:06:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the long delay, Blogger's been a bit iffy lately, couldn't get into my own blog for nearly three months, just kept jamming up on me...maybe I need a new machine?!

I haven't been as active as I should be, as I recently moved and had to find all the stuff again...but we're up and running again! Bury WarGamers is just gaining strength, almost becoming a business (as Capt. Stevo accidently put it on Saturday). Our first Vet's evening was a total success, with 11 Veterans and Symon (Runik Games, Ipswich) showing up for the league games (Warmachine). Fish and chips and (snicker) Saveloys being enjoyed by all.
The new Tour (Bloodstone Borderlands) sees us facing off with much more intricate scenario rules and much more to get your head around than simple 'Caster kills. With the League using all of the points systems this Tour we have much more to consider when in combat.
As a result all the games-500pnts mostly- went on for over two hours, with opponents fighting in much more protracted battles on more complex Primary victory conditions. Very few actually met the criteria to gain Primary victory and some games (including my own-against Mark) not finishing with a concrete result in the 6th round.
Victory points were added up and LP were calculated. So Symon's gonna have his spreadsheet filling up quickly with all sorts of outcomes. The PP guys have stepped up the pace and this will obviously have a trickle-down effect to the players, forcing more strategic moves and better troop/unit choices from the players.
So, head-sore and frag'd we left after 10pm, pretty much all smiles, whether we won or lost.
A Great gaming evening, and no screaming, fighting, crying, argueing, teaching, organising, pulling-out-of-hair...Wonderful. Lets keep it up guys, it was Fab!

Second Lael Tour games

2008-01-28T16:13:00.000Z

Well we certainly were more organised this Saturday with the League stuff. Tim and I got stuck into the maps needed for the evening, and Richard showed up just in time with print-outs of all the maps and rules and scenarios and all. Awesome! We had a lot of battles raging across the club-house and many points racked up, not by me unfortunately. I faced down against Feora and a Flesh-wall, no way I could get my objective down this week. Then the little Firebug rushed me, and it was all over, Bugger!
We had six visitor players again, from Ipswich, welcome guys...see ya next time again.
Cheers

G

BWG Forum

2008-01-26T10:31:00.000Z

Wow, the Bury Wargamers have their own forum now!
A fantastic new feature for the club...I never thought 7 people could generate 130 posts in under two weeks. I think it might just work Moriarty!
Follow the sidebar links to see the Forum, wonderful way to keep track of all that's going down, Get Involved...!
G
Update: The Forum is Full Steam / Full Stoke, over 200 posts and up to 12 members, young and older...no-one really old at the club...we all play with toys, tee hee*

Parties & Leagues

2008-01-15T09:08:00.000Z

Hi all,
I've updated the Bury Album again. This time with the new pics from the Year end party and the Scrap Metal Painting Contest. Sorry that there's not more but I got distracted.

The first Call to Arms League evening was fantastic. We had a massive turnout, with 6 players from Ipswich coming through to contend. It was great, even if I did lose to Kieran. But then I think that he's beaten everyone in the club. I would like to hear if there is anyone whom he hasn't beaten yet.
See ya again soon,
G

Display Base update

2007-12-02T13:27:00.000Z

Just a little update to the Figurines Album. I'm working hard to finish the Display base for Arwen, so these are the latest progress. I've shot some of the photo's in Black and White. This was more for me as I was arranging basing material, particularly rocks and grit, and since the different elements that I was using were/are all different colours it was difficult for me to determine whether I was going too far with the stuff or not. Shooting this in Black & White allowed me to see the whole 'picture' much better.

I built most of the ground out of Milliput, doing two layers so that I could build up the texture and detailing on top once the base layer had set. My sketch is almost faithfully translated into the 3D sculpt and I'm quite happy with the balance. Arwen on the horse will hopefully hold their own against the 'weight' implied by the statue. The statue is on Arwen's 'weak' side where there is not a lot of detail to hide by mistake. I have left enough room around the statue so that the horse doesn't become 'lost' within the background. The hole on the center of the base is for the horses' left front leg. I've left a little room for her to ride into the setting. I have added an ivy vine around part of the statues' waist and I'm working on a lizard from the Lustrian Jungle Swarm blister that will go on the blindside of the statue to add an element of colour (contrasting) to an otherwise bland part of the display.

I'll add more as I work, Keep looking,

New Uploads

2007-11-30T22:58:00.000Z

Hi There,

I've just updated my albums, in particular the Warmachine stuff. I've added a new album so Capt Steve can have a good look at the Magnus Battlegroup.

Those of you who took a look in the figurines album at the start would have seen an Arwen on horseback in progress...well she's almost finished and so I've begun on her base piece. She is meant for a Xmas gift for my wife, so she's getting a rather large base piece with a 'massive' ruined statue on it. I have seen many Golden Demon and such displays of Arwen done, but none really reflected the visuals from the movie. I've tried to keep the figurine's colours natural and true to the film, and in such I wanted to show the waining power of the Elves on Middle Earth as the Fifth Age dawns, an age of men and a time of decent for the Elves, their ones proud cities emptying and their magestic artworks fallen. Arwen, like her Grandmother - Luthien Tuniviel, has given herself to a human, altho' a Dunadain at that, and will give up her heritage and immortal life to be with her love. This is the start of the base and I will add as I continue, hopefully I will finish it soon, as I have another to prep and paint before Xmas!

So check out the Figurines album for the 4 new pics!

See ya

Saturday Night Live!

2007-11-25T17:27:00.000Z

Hi there,

I was given PAGE 5 in spades, had my Brass Ones handed to me with a bit of 'Jack oil gravy!

So went my first Tournament.
I was thoroughly trounced, to put it in a word, BUT, I had immense fun and I think so did all the rest.
A Mini-Tournament hosted by the Bury WarGamers this Saturday past. Duelling Battlegroups and Wargroups (Warmachine/Hordes) in a limited timeframe...Mayhem!

Three visiting Warcasters, from Londonium, had sound strategies & a bit of luck and walked off with the prizes. Well done chaps, I think we need to get a bit more aggressive with out gaming, Huh!

Thanks to Runik Games of Ipswich who kindly donated 75 quid worth of vouchers for the prizes, and brought a fair portion of their shop with for us to sample. (Did we ever, vultures the lot of them...or is it just 'who snoozeth looseth')

Thanks also to Commander Adept Steve and Scrutator Tim for a great evening, casual and brutal as it should be !

Some people just couldn't be dragged into the fray, altho' eventually Anthony relented and carved Deneghra into chop suey in the third round of his battle, well done mate!

All the new pics are in the Bury Album in the sidebar.

See ya Soon,

Freebooter Rulz!

2007-11-15T18:25:00.000Z

I got myself this little beauty today, ordered it on the weekend and here it is - all the way from Germany...Wonderful! Werner has really outdone himself on this sculpt, the powder-monkey is possibly the cutest fig I've ever seen. Don't know how he does it. No fancy three-up and 3d computer work for this man...all by eye and green-stuff. Absolutely amazing!

The paintjob is by Jennifer Haley a renowned artist, and sculptor for Reaper mini's. Check out her stuff here:

Paintrix

She features in the latest 'No Quarter 15' as winner of the Gold in the Diorama category of the P3 painting contest. Her Old witch of Khador and Scrapjack Vignette is filled with small resculpts and details. I've been following her work since before she became Pro, and got Reaper commissions. (8-9 years) She just gets better all the time. Her site is small and links to wegotgame site, but it all needs updating- pity really. You can see some of her work at the freebooter miniatures web site, in the gallery.

See ya later,
G

Quicksand

2007-11-14T08:35:00.000Z

Sorry, good morning, good evening and good night. Been consumed with a set of Warmachine figurines. Trying to get together a unique colour-scheme for the 'Magnus the Traitor' set of Warjacks and caster- namely ol' one leg...Asheth Magnus.
A note: I never fully realised, until a short while back, that this character, Magnus, was such a die-hard. He's either just plain stubborn, or so set in his ways that he'll end up dying for it. I haven't looked at the second two books from Privateer yet, only Prime remix and Escalation, but it seems that Magnus just gets kicked over and over again. Then he just gets back up; re-adjusts his leg-brace; and starts again. He tends to be a bit of a genius with 'Jacks and arc nodes so most of the construction work was done by Magnus himself. With solid 'Engines East' chassis to work from he couldn't really go wrong. So I wanted to make personal 'jacks, so I needed some different colour schemes:

I really like character fluff/background/history/etc so I'll probably move on from him and use other warcasters as well, in particular Ashlynn and the new Privateer 'Caster-Fiona the Black'

She's due for release in Feb next year, but they're showing her off in 'No Quarter' already. That's just wrong man!

Dirty Meg the Jack marshal/Mechanik/Privateer is out next month and I can't wait to get my hands on her....the figurine of course, tsk; tsk!

Check out the Figurine Album link in the sidebar, my Warmachine pics are there.

Magnus is done, just the base to finish off and he's complete. Notice that instead of opting for the painted front/rear arc option on the base I've allowed two pointed pieces of flint hang over the edges a bit. These denote the left and right sides of the halves. So no need for an ugly painted line on the base and everyone should still be happy. Oh yeah, you may have noticed, once you take a look, that Magnus is on a larger base. I put him on a 40mm because he's not a Solo or even a Captain or Std bearer unit, he's a Warcaster Damb You! I know its not Tourney legal, and so what - house rules prevail, Hah!

Catch yawl later,
G

Bury Wargamers 27/10

2007-10-29T09:37:00.000Z

Hi all,
Had a blast on Saturday evening at the Bury Wargamers meeting in (wait for it)... Bury St Edmunds. Hah! It was great, relaxed and full of happy people. I arrived a bit early as I'm busy trying to get a Battlegroup finished (Warmachine). So I sat painting while the juniors fought each other to a standstill. They've decided to have a massive tank battle next time. can't wait to see it. Runik Games, Ipswich (www.runikgames.com) sent their man, Reuben, to tempt us with new shiny goodies to buy, Wonderful!
I got some pics of the games in progress and some fantastic shots of a Deathjack. Display class stuff! New links in the sidebar.

I have got new photos of the Rhino armour in the album, and I'm adding a new link to the Warmachine and Bury Gamers albums so do have a peek.
I bought Magnus the Traitor Box set, Eryss-mage killer & a Buccaneer 'jack so keep the album in mind - I'll update with each post. I've been reading the fluff and trying to figure the colour-scheme in my head. All the main factions are so set in their colours (orig) but the Merc's tend to be more hap-hazard.
This opens up many options when it comes to painting the 'Casters and especially the 'Jacks. When you consider that few Merc 'jacks are gonna be legit. A few may have been designed for special Merc's, like the Rhulic stuff, but most are scavenged, looted or stolen. anyway, have a look see as I progress.
I will only be posting pics of Magnus for now, as certain peoples need surprising, so the 'jacks will be posted when complete.
Later

More Armour

2007-10-23T01:34:00.000+01:00

Hi there,
I've updated the Rhino armour album (check the lynx!). I'm almost done with it now. I'll work on the templates and try to get them published soon, but it's all really up to the individual. I wanted my armour to be unique, and yet look like manufactured Mechanicus plating. The layout and linear design you choose could well be better than mine, and in you own opinion it probably will be.
I used 0.4" card all the way through this build and it served me well. I was easy to work and is soft and flexible. It files, scrapes and sands very well. All the rounded edges were a doddle really, just keep them even and you're okay. I nicked some of the rivets that are hidden by the plating and re-attached them around the door plate. This really beefed up the look of the armour and gave it a good Templar feel to it. The hindged doors were a mission, but well worth it in the end. The most fragile part of the build was definitely the cowlings, I was forced to re-glue them at least three times. Only once I had glued on the bases onto the cowlings did they strengthen up.
TIP: Brace the cowlings with a base early in the build, it'll save time and frustration. The base could also be placed inside the bottom of the cowling giving it a sunken look.
I'll keep adding as I work.
Cheers,
G

Spaced Armour

2007-10-21T12:52:00.000+01:00

Hi there, this is one of my newer projects.

A Warhammer 40K rhino that I'm preparing for my Black Templars. I wanted spaced armour, but wasn't going to fork out 14 quid for the Forge World parts. Not that I don't think they're great, but I have champagne taste on a beer salary.

Plasticard and sweat go a lot further. I really like the spaced armour as it looks more imposing than the reinforced armour. Especially on the Rhino the spaced armour gives it a slightly wider profile.

My biggest problem is having to be very neat with the work. Space Marine vehicles are serviced by the Adeptus Mechanicus and as a result you can only expect the very best work from them. This is not a jury-rigged set of plates like the Imperial Guard may be forced to use, but rather well-crafted and fit plates of armour from a template.

I have drawn up a plan which I am tweaking as small problems arise. i.e. the frontal plate overlap and it's narsty angles. I will post the completed template once I'm satisfied that it'll work properly.

New album of the Rhino Here:

Warmachine walk-through

2007-10-17T10:33:00.000+01:00

Hi again,
Sorry I'm having fun... so sue me!
I found this link the other day and figured it could help a lot of Warmachine players out there. Especially those who are getting started or want to try another faction. Good up-to-date info that is being edited as the errata appears. I found a wealth of info including 'Jack choices, Warcaster choices, strategies and alliances. Have a look, you won't be disappointed.
Enjoy,
G
Ps. I'll be adding links to the sidebar as I find good ones. If any happen to die out without my knowledge, please let me know. There is nothing quite as irritating as searching for a link for an entire afternoon, only to find that it is dead!
Thank you,
G

Figurine Album

2007-10-17T09:55:00.000+01:00

Hi there,
I've just updated my web-album, so come check out the figurines and models I've been working on.
I'll add more pics as I can take them. I just got my camera back from repairs, so I'm good to go again.
Go Here for Figurines
The captions are huge, sorry, but I was trying to explain a little!
Enjoy,
G
Ps. I'll try'n stick a link in the side-bar, then it'll remain.

Do you want her?

2007-10-17T06:22:00.001+01:00

This is Eiryss, Mage Killer. The most notorious assassin in the Iron Kingdoms.
This is an Alternative sculpt that will only be available to those who buy issues 14, 15 & 16 of 'No Quarter' magazine (Privateer Press). She comes free, well almost...send off the proof of purchase from the three mags, plus the shipping costs and she arrives at your door within 6 weeks (or so).
This is NOT a plug for the mag, I just want yawl to know she's gonna be available, and there is no other way-besides ebay-to get your grubby little paws on her. I know that I want this fig, not only for the cool paint-job she will be, but she is considered to be almost 'beardy' when it comes to Tournaments. Everyone seems to field her simply because of what she is...A mage killer of note. She'll take down a Warcaster or a leader faster than you can say tikitikitimbo-noscoarimbo-berryberrybushki-impromendo-pompom. So an alt sculpt of her is gonna be very welcome. And since only those who purchase the mags are gonna get her, that'll make her nicer to have, or what!

Check out the Privateer - No Quarter - page for yourself.

The Magazine is available in the U.K. but you have to hunt for a good price.
Enjoy
G

Greetings All

2007-10-16T14:30:00.000+01:00

Hi there,
This is my first ever blog, so put up with it.
I'm gonna post some of my photos, ideas and creations from my favourite hobby. It's more than a past-time 'cause it occupies most of my free time, not that I'm obsessed, I'm not, really. I really enjoy building and gaming with miniature figurines. Mostly wargames, and skirmish type conflicts. Not that I'm violent by nature, but I enjoy painting beautiful figurines and then having the joy of playing intricate wargames with them. Cream on the Cake !!!
Since I was quite young I've been inclined towards art and didn't really get into the model building until at least 13yrs. I started as everyone does, with military stuff.
Being in South africa was a bit of a problem since the availability was erratic and prices were crazy. Once I'd seen the second Star Wars movie; on the Silver Screen, I was more than hooked on Sci-Fi.
Then the army took me into a different direction when I discovered Dungeons and Dragons. Yes... the original 6 Player character game from Gary Gygax. The figurines were-by today's standards-terrible, but I faithfully painted them (and have since repainted them) and was hooked on figurines. Solo pieces that could make a vignette (look it up dork!).
Since the market was cramped and there were very few distributors of the early Warhammer and WoTC figs I had a hell of a time getting my hands on any. So one fig would have to last my a few months, at least. In 1984 I got given a 4pack blister of Marauders from the Warhammer range. I was in extacy. I have only recently finished the last one this year, Ha!
Once I arrived on the other side of the Pond, in England-Oh Sunny England!, God I miss the S.A. sun. Once I got here I could buy any figurines I wanted, I could order over the net at reasonable prices, OOOOoooooh! I've got so many unpainted figs now it's silly really. Eyes are bigger than paintbrush syndrome. Some call it Figmentia. (Look it up Dork!)
I've now joined the Bury Wargamers, and hope to hang around there for a good long while. My first impressions are fantastic. The members all enjoy the same thing in general, Wargaming, so I enjoyed myself thouroughly. They're the reason that you have to listen to all this now, since I found this spot through them, so I'm not to blame for any forthcoming actions !
I'll post some of my pics asap and some of my concept ideas, etc.
Cheers,
G