Where in the world, are my miniatures!?

 Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This post is purely one to catalogue where some of my work has ended up and in what format it has been used.

We'll start with my Halfling Snipers:

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Initially, I got these cast up, in resin, and sold a lot myself. This was quite a challenge for me what with packaging, posting, advertising etc... and I ended up with quite a lot that were unsold. As a result I decided to sell to a reputable miniatures company, CP Models and they can now be found here:

Link to Halfling Snipers

Next we have the tale of the five Space Dwarf bodies. I sculpted five bodies, posted them off and they got lost in the mail... so I kindly re-sculpted them for no extra charge. Here are the bodies:

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These were originally sold to someone who then sold them on, to an Australian miniatures company called Wereweevil Miniatures. He has used the bodies to create his range of Space Dwarfs and they can be found here:

Link To Space Dwarves

Now let's talk about "Leets". I'd never heard of them but someone asked me to sculpt them and provided pix so this is what I came up with:

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They were sculpted for Matakishi Tea House and are available from here (as part of a bundle by more than one sculptor):

Link to Leets

Next we have a couple of sculpts that I did for Grekwood Miniatures. The first was a caricature of the founder of the brand, Grekwood... who sadly passed away. The second was a random Dwarf that I thought would work well in the character range... Here's Grekwood:

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He's wearing a fez because... "fezes are cool" (a Dr. Who reference and Grekwood loved that show). This next one is the random Dwarf:

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These are both available from Grekwood Miniatures:

Link to Grekwood

Link to Hannibal the Dwarf

Next we have a Goblin that was originally sculpted for a charity called Goblin Aid. This was to help a fellow sculptor who was assaulted and robbed. Once the sculpt was cast up and sold for a period of time, the sales were stopped and I was asked if I wanted the green back. I said for them to sell it on EBay, which they did... and it was bought by Impact Miniatures. This is the original Judge Gobbo sculpt:

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When the miniature went to Impact! Miniatures, it was converted into a "chibi" judge and sold in that range with a much larger head. It can be found here:

Link to Chibi MP Officer 

Now we have a couple of miniatures that were part of sculpting competitions for Hasslefree Miniatures. Both were based on "nude blanks" of Hasslefree miniatures. First we have a sci-fi trooper:

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Next, we have a female Sleiti (an alien race in the Hasslefree range):

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At the moment, the Hasslefree Miniatures website is being revamped so I can't post links... but they will be there at some point.

Link to Sci-Fi Trooper TBD

Link to Female Sleiti TBD

Now we come to the most substantial of my sculpting projects, the Space Dwarf "Army Project". This was done in liaison with Macrocosm Miniatures and has been ticking along for about three years, now. Here is the range:

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This range has all been sent to Macrocosm Miniatures and is normally batch produced and sold through Kickstarter before being sold in the Macrocosm store. At the moment, not all of these are available but for a large proportion of them, have a look here:

Link to Space Dwarf  Project

One of my latest ventures is to sculpt caricatures for Politicos Miniatures. These are sculpts of political figures in a more caricaturised style. The first one was of Dominic Cummings... seen here:

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He is the first of the sculpts and I am currently working on a second one. Dominic can be found here:

Link to Dominic

Over the years, I have sculpted many little commissions; a lot of them being for collectors who just want a character sculpt. I remember making sets of legs for armour that I got cast up and then sold the green... a Halfling thief... a Space Marine Lord... a "three eyed, moustachioed, hairy, groper" ( a cartoon styled beast for a competition), a computer game character... a Dwarf, deep-sea diver... and many others but they aren't being sold anywhere.

I just thought I'd take some time to go through a few things and put them all in one place... as much for myself as anyone else.

If I remember any more, I'll be sure to update this post.

See you from the future!

A week of perspiration.

I have never been a fan of the heat but travelling to places like Iraq, Kenya and Kuwait has taught me that I CAN function in warmer countries because of the arid nature of the heat. It isn't the heat that slows me down it is the humidity... and low and behold, that is British heat for you.

I would dearly have loved to get some proper painting in this week but the humidity has made it impossible. It is all down to sweaty hands and paint drying too quickly. Every time I pick a miniature up to paint, I am leaving sweaty finger prints around the base and it is making them difficult to hold (especially with the rounded edges of Warmachine bases).

So I decided the only chance I had of getting anything done was to hire a paint monkey...

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But for what I paid him, he was a disappointment... and only half base-coated a Space Dwarf. That left me with the only option available... prep & prime. Here is what I have on my work bench at the moment:

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In it, you will see a little progress on the Dragon, a base-coated Mhurni, two Dwarf slayer novices, two Human slayer novices and a Human slayer. It isn't a lot to show off but it is definitely progress.

In other news, I went to a work BBQ with my daughter and managed to get a lovely sunburnt head... but we had a good afternoon with friends and colleagues (and my daughter got to see what a work function was like). I managed to catch up with all of my work projects so I will be able to have a two week holiday very soon (I CAN'T WAIT!!!!)... I plan to take my laptop and get some writing done for the Reptiliad project.

Did anyone mention getting things cast? No? Are you sure? Oooohhhh... it was me! Yes, it looks like getting my sculpts cast is the thing of this week because the goblin I sculpted for Goblin Aid is being mastered and should be ready for sale in around ten days from Ral Partha Europe. I also have another sculpt which I sent over to Carl at Grekwood Miniatures that has also been mastered and I should have some copies to show off soon. the final miniature will be up for sale in the next couple of months (possibly) but is destined for the Grekwood Miniatures shop at some point. I am really happy about this.

A Tribute.

This week marked the second anniversary of Gareth 'Grekwood' Sutherwood's passing. As much as I was saddened by this, I was also uplifted as I looked back at some of the things that have gone on since he left his family and our community. He obviously made a huge impact because his birthday is always remembered on the FoD and the various other forums he visited. Everyone speaks fondly of him and always mentions his thirst for life and his cheerful enthusiasm (not to mention bananas... lots and lots of bananas). His brother has built up an internet business and was inspired enough to start sculpting miniatures and selling them, along with his brother's work... this has branched out to other manufacturer's products. I was moved to sculpt a miniature as a tribute to him and so was Kev White over at Hasslefree Miniatures and painted versions are now at home with the Sutherwoods. Andy Foster at Heresy Miniatures named the armour that his Sharclons wear 'KERG' armour... I wonder why? Various charitable donations have occurred and various charity auctions have happened to raise money to research the disease that caused Gareth's untimely demise.

So... from someone I never met who became a friend, so much good has happened.

A fitting tribute to a life so cruelly cut short.

RIP Gareth 'Grekwood' Sutherwood.

See you from a humble place!

The list.

So... I have been looking around and having some fun and here are some interesting things that will hit Salute this year...

SALUTE

Hasslefree Miniatures will have multiple new releases including the Grymn powered armour and a bunch of other stuff that you will find HERE.

Heresy Miniatures will also have some new stuff on offer that may include Sharclons, sci-fi troopers, gangers and a new barbarian.

Antenociti's Workshop has lots of new stuff but the pick of the bunch is THIS and THIS.

World of Twilight has a host of new releases that can be found HERE.

Fenris Games have some interesting stuff (especially laser cut scenery) and is also the Goblin Aid central hub.

Ground Zero Games has some new mecha that looks quite interesting. It can be seen HERE.

Pulp City have a threesome of new releases that can be found HERE.

Studio McVey have some new releases too. My favourite can be found HERE.

There is also a mystery manufacturer that has some of THIS and THIS but unfortunately it won't be at Salute.

I am sure that I have missed some... but I can't think what.

Well... that is all I have until Salute is over and I return home on Saturday night. To leave you with something that I managed to finish today, here is a picture of Grekwood:

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Unfortunately, the varnish was a bit patchy so I have to wait a while to apply a second coat and hope that it sorts out the glossy bits.

I hope to see you on the day. As I have mentioned, I will be on the Hasslefree Miniatures stand (walk through the doors, turn left and keep walking until you bump into the stand - it's TA03) and look forward to lots of visitors (especially two people who have some items to collect).

I am very excited.

See you from the front of the queue!

Tuesday's news.

First of all, welcome EISENKREUZ. I hope you enjoy your stay. Please feel free to comment on what you see hear and share ideas.

Today, I received a nice little parcel from Carl over at Grekwood Miniatures. My green is now metal:

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I am very happy about this and have started painting one of the casts already. Hopefully the miniatures will be available later this month.

See you from the base-line... you cannot be serious!!!

The last day of my holiday.

Welcome to Maj. Diz Aster! he is the newest follower of Inso's World and is most welcome. If you see anything you like or want to share ideas, feel free.

Deep breath time... I have a lot to share today and wanted to start with... a gratuitous kitten picture:

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She was fast asleep up until I unfastened the camera case... but you can see that Charmmy is now getting towards her 'catten' stage and will soon be off to be spayed and chipped ready for unsupervised outings into the big, wide world.

Such distractions but my week off has been full of them. The biggest was a day trip to London to shop around for my daughter's prom dress... which didn't take as long as I'd dreaded so that was a big worry lifted (and it was less expensive than I feared so it was win, win). Apart from that, I bagged another nine Grymn in powered armour and finished off the command squad whilst starting to paint the rest:

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I still need to add rank and insignia but I will do that when the platoon is finished so that I can get them all done at the same time (that way they will all use the same colours etc.).

Next up was a small order to Heresy miniatures for some of their new Sharclon miniatures. I hope they arrive soon so that I can properly decide how they look.

In other news, I have been informed that the Grekwood green is now master cast and will be available to buy from Grekwood Miniatures in the near future:

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In more sculpting news, I am getting there with the Wang Shambler and Thor sculpts and have even added some more putty to the Daemon Prince... but I have been forced to lose a few other minis from their corks to make way for my next exciting project... more superheroes! This time it will be two Dwarf superheroes with separate heads... and they are for a miniatures company... so watch this space for information (if not pictures) of how that goes.

So it is back to work tomorrow and Salute next weekend! I expect to post a couple of times this week with a bit more information about my plans for the event.

Interesting times!

See you from the bottom of the gorge!

Measured opinions.

Before I start, I'd like to welcome EinarOlafson and angiegerrard to my blog. Welcome to Inso's World and I hope you both enjoy your stay. Feel free to wander along the paths and comment on things you feel you want to comment about.

I've had a tiring week. Busy at work but not so busy to tire me out... it has been the lack of sleep that has done me in. It isn't all bad though... it frees the mind somewhat so I have been coming up with lots of ideas.

Well... the Grekwood sculpt is finished:

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The first pic shows all the angles and the second one shows the sculpt tabbed up ready to get sent.

... and this leads me to the title of today's post. 

When you do what I do and sculpt things, you get an opinion of what you have created. You get this opinion by turning the sculpt over in your hand, studying it from all directions, comparing it to the idea behind the design or the subject you are trying to replicate. You decide in your mind whether it is what you were trying to achieve, not bad.... or one for the bin. The Grekwood sculpt is what I would call 'close enough but not perfect'. I am happy with it, and that is the best measure I have.

Then you put the pictures out there and sit back and wait for the opinions of others.

I would say that sometimes you have to have a thick skin but sometimes you can bask in glory at the praise you get. People throw opinions at you and they can be measured, they can be blunt or they can be down-right rude. Sometimes you agree but other times, no matter how hard you stare at your work, you can't understand how the posted opinion could be reached. 

It is difficult, sometimes, to remain objective when you think your work is good but others give reasons for it not being so good but that is the nature of the beast. If you put stuff 'out there' then expect people to have mixed opinions. The only way to stop the mixed opinions is to practice and work even harder to make your work as perfect as you can (even though you may be a little crestfallen at the negative comments you get).

The comments I received about the Grekwood sculpt led to me adjusting the face slightly but because it looks like what I wanted to achieve, I would never change it any further to appease the negative comments... so this is one of those thick skin moments. 

Measured opinions require measured responses and with everything being so global nowadays, there is no way you can please everyone.

SO... I've been adding putty to the big armature and here it is at the moment:

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He is getting there and will end up as a 'Stealth Cyclist'... a cyclist in black Lycra with a black helmet, big head and even bigger grin. He is another gizzit for a colleague who is leaving so I have four weeks to turn it from this into the planned caricature... GULP!

I have also been getting some sculpting done on the space cowboy (which I am not allowed to show off) and my Hasslefree competition sculpt (which isn't enough to show off) so I have been a little bit busy but not busy enough to get everything finished.

Ho-Hum!

See you from the gate at the bottom of the field; where the stream floods in the spring and the cows graze in the summer.

Finally, a little progress.

Today I have been into town and had a good old potter around. I went into Model Zone and could have easily spent a LOT of money - there are some excellent offers in their summer sale.

Speaking of offers, Hasslefree Miniatures are having a summer bonus as well... see this LINK for what's on offer and this LINK for the details. It is definitely worth a look.

As you will have read yesterday, the leaving do that I went to went very well and my gizzit was well accepted so I was very happy about that... (this one):

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It ended up with a laminated, tiny newspaper on the base with his name and the dates he was at his post. Now it is just a case of bringing the next one upto a similar standard by September the 3rd. Here is what it looks like at the moment:

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Awesome isn't it (he said sarcastically)?

The Space Cowboy has been getting a little bit of work as well... but I can't show you that... so how about my little Space Dwarf project? Here's where I am at with that now:

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I have finished the female dolly and have started to bulk out the next two. The new ones only look larger because they are closer than the finished ones... they are all around the same height. These two are both going to be male with two females following on from them. I think both of the sexes will have a standing, jogging, running, kneeling and prone dolly (to start with) so I should end up with ten dollies to get cast ready for detailing up. You know what they say, slow and steady wins the race.

My Grekwood sculpt is coming along too. I just need to tidy the coat up and add a base tag and he will be finished:

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His head is a little larger than I would have liked but he is a caricature so I am not overly concerned. A bit of paint and it will look pretty close to the intended mug-shot.

Add to this little lot, two based RAFM spider mechs for my Clanker units and I don't think I've done too bad. Hopefully, I'll sleep better this week and then I'll be able to keep my mind on things a bit better.

Who knows?

See you from the table! 

80,000? Surely not.

I've only gone and broken the 80,000 views total. Thanks to everyone who has visited and I hope that I can keep this little world going for another 80,000 views.

To celebrate, the sculpting on the gizzit is done:

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The next job will be to paint him and base him on his nice wooden plinth... then put the plaque on and he's ready to be given as a gift. I am very happy to have him finished because he has taken an awful long time to sculpt (big stuff takes longer... I have learnt that now).

I have also started to add bits to my Grekwood sculpt. I thought I'd give him a pistol... so I did. He is a leftie now...

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The pistol is a Hasslefree Miniatures one and I think it suits the sculpt.

Finally, the Hasslefree Competition sculpt is progressing:

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Just the arms to finish now. Not bad seeing as I started sculpting this on Sunday... I have deliberately made her a bit chunky because she will be equipped for close combat. I hope to have her finished for Sunday's post but I have some commitments in between now and then so we'll have to see if I can manage it.

That is about it for now.

See you from the bridge of The Obituary!

Tick... Tock...

Before I start with today's post, I'd like to welcome Greblord and demi_morgana to my humble blog. Welcome to both of you and I hope you enjoy your stay. There is all sorts to be seen so make sure you check out the view and feel free to comment on whatever you see.

So... this week has been... interesting to say the least. It started well but then on Tuesday I discovered a massive phone bill that my son had run up. Nearly half-a-grand British Stirling. Well... that sort of put the damper on the rest of the week and my enthusiasm for hobby stuff sort of died.

That said, I have managed to get a small amount of sculpting done but mostly on the commission pieces that I can't show off. I did however, find the gumption to start the next Dwarf and continue with the gift miniature:

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Okay... it isn't much but it IS something.

This week has seen a bit of nostalgia creeping in over at LAF. Warzone is the topic of conversation and that stirred something in me... so I have been assembling and converting again and can show off the fruits of my labour:

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As you can see, there are nine Vulkan / Victor battle-suits in the pic. The four at the back will be getting re-marked and will form part of a nine Clanker unit. The unit will be led by the Victor (the large one) and will have a pair of anti armour weapons (in the process of conversion - an auto-cannon and a las-cannon). The unit will have an additional comms-robot to make it up to ten (just like the rest of the Tunnel Fighter units). 

It will be easy to convert the planned miniature and it will suit the heavier stats of the Clankers (it will count as an un-armed Clanker). You can get them HERE and I think it will fit in with the style of the other comms-robots I have in the Tunnel Fighter arm.

That is about it for now.

See you from the top of a tall tree!

Sunday stuff.

I'll start today's post with a bit of bad news. Ainsty Castings was the victim of theft this weekend and it has hit them hard. Please follow the link to find out more about it:

LINK

If anyone out there sees any of the stolen stock for sale, please let the police/Ainsty Castings know and maybe we can all do our little bit to nail the scum that has carried out the theft.

It leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Well... it has been a week this week. I would love to say that I have achieved a huge amount of hobby stuff but I haven't. The Space Cowboy has moved on considerably but everything else has been about sorting out basics with nothing really positive to show off.  The only bit of positive progress that I can show off is on the Space Dwarf:

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As you can see, I have started to add all of the body armour on the Dwarf and once I have got that sorted, I will tidy up the rest and look to find somewhere to get a few cast... but I'll be sculpting a few more torso/leg poses to a similar level before I get any cast up (may as well get five or so sculpted up and get a few masters to play with).

You may have noticed that there is a more human sized armature in the pic. Well, that is a sculpt that I have planned for a while as a gift. As you can see, he is in a very early stage of sculpting but when he is finished he will have a long coat and a big smile... he may even be wearing a fez. Who knows?

On the motorcycle front, my CB500 has kicked me in the proverbials again. While draining my front brake, the reservoir was over the tank. I pumped the brake a bit to drain the fluid from the brake unit and didn't notice that there was a leak from the master cylinder... I now have a lovely patch of stripped paint on the fuel tank and will need to spend £70+ on a new master cylinder and that doesn't include the cost of the tank re-spray. Fortunately, I managed to remove the seized bolt from the rear-set using some screw extractors so I can now sort those out (flaking paint and corrosion)...

...however... when I was on my course this week, I was taken to a bike shop and got a chance to have a look around and I have seen some very nice bikes. Add to that the fact that next month I finish paying for the car and need to get another loan to maintain my credit rating (that is my excuse and I am sticking to it) and it may mean that I end up with a nice new bike to keep me entertained while I renovate my CB500.

... Hmmm...

... New bike :).

See you from Thruxton!