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...

Ta-Daaaaah!

Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.

This week has been another busy one around the house and on the hobby front.

To start with, we now have a fully functioning guest room with all the furniture and a bed in there. All that is needed is a bit of linen and someone to arrive.

I managed to get a day where I could be outside and not melt so I took the opportunity to clear out the shed, replace all the shelving and give it a good old clean before putting most of the stuff back into it. There is actually floor space in there now... which is great.

On the hobby front, I have been busy sculpting and have continued with the ogre sniper (no pics) but also managed to finish all the Halfling Snipers so that they could be sent off for casting:

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As you can see, they all have nice little basing tabs so I know they are mine. They were sent off on Saturday and the casts should be arriving by early August so there will be an opportunity for other people to get hold of some, fairly soon. This will be the first time that I have had my own miniatures cast up for myself so it is a bit of a departure from the norm. It will be interesting to see how they are received.

As well as sculpting, I have been receiving hobby stuff through the post. First, a small batch of Primaris Space Marines arrived from EBay. There has been a bit of a faff because they weren't the ones I ordered but we have reached an agreement and things should be sorted soon. In the meantime, I decided to start work on the lieutenant model... so I replaced his head, moved his helmet to his belt and added a 'bulge' on his helmet so that his bionic eye would be able to fit:

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In the above pic, you can see the converted helmet and also see that he has been primed, ready for paint. I plan to paint these all in camouflage and have started to lay down colours to see what they look like. I just have some small black flecks to add... but this is going to be the pattern I will be using (with little black flecks added next):

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It will end up as a stylised version of British DPM. I have put the paints I have used, in the background so that I know which ones they are for later use (I have a lot of greens and browns). This miniature isn't one I ordered so I am happy to use it as a test model to see how things go. Obviously, I have a long way to go yet but every journey starts with the first step.

In other news, I stumbled upon an opportunity that I couldn't resist... cheap Megaro Zamac kits. On this ocasion, Run Valam:

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This particular kit is one that regularly turns up on EBay for £30+ but I got this one for £5.49. It was advertised as 'bits only' but later, the seller posted that all the pieces seemed to be there so I took a punt... and they were. Bargain. Now I just need to decide whether to add it to the rest of my 'retirement' Megaro Zamac kits or convert/build it up as a single. I am sure I will make my mind up soon... these are the retirement kits:

Click the Pics!

That is it for this week.

See you from the nice, clean shed!

Thursday for a change...

Before the post is started, I'd like to welcome Ray Hepburn to Inso's World. As is usual, I hope that you share comments and take away some inspiration from my blog.

So why update on a Thursday?

Why not?

So I was sat at the PC the other day and saw a kit that would finish my collection of Megaro Zamac kits. I got all excited and threw a bid on it at a value I would expect to win at. I smiled for a moment and then thought... "hang on a minute" before checking my cupboard. I looked inside to see the complete set... I had already bought the kit! So... almost £20.00 later, this arrived:

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As it happens, it is in better nick than the one I already had so it isn't all bad... not to mention that I like the kit... so hey... maybe I'll build it rather than save it for my retirement. 

Does anyone like Halo? I've got one of these:

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It was a random purchase and now that I have it... I don't really want it so it will no doubt get offered up on the forums somewhere.

On an actual hobby related topic, I have base coated and washed my Tunnel Fighter ambulance:

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It still needs highlighting and detailing but it is getting there now. On a side note, I won't be putting on the number plate digits/letters because I have got some decals that I will be using to replace all of the badly hand-painted ones I have done on the rest of the vehicles... so when I get them all together to sort the mess out, this vehicle will get number plates as well.

This week, I have been doing a 'manual handling - train the trainer' course and I have to complete a presentation for tomorrow... so I have some homework to do tonight... nice. As a result, I have been running around the house pretending to be a Velociraptor, which my daughter found hysterically funny. Charmmy, however, was less impressed:

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Well, that is about that.

See you from the study room!

It has been epic.

This week has been 'interesting' to say the least.

I have culled someone on Facebook for being insensitive about the Pog.

I have joined a couple of Facebook groups which are about the up-coming Warzone redux and also a general miniatures one.

I have finished painting Meg and the Purple Pugs:

Click the Pic!

I have got the ball rolling for this year's Unofficial Diorama of Doom (UNDoD 2013) - LINK

I have got the ball rolling for a Frothers Unite sculpting competition - LINK (It is Frothers so the language/tone is crude and blasphemous... you have been warned).

I have been sculpting a... CREATURE (no WIP pix for this one... you'll see it when it is finished).

I have been working on the Macross mech from the last post (tidying up the cockpit).

I have dug another random miniature from the cupboard and have painted it (just waiting for the base to dry before I finish painting the base and post some pix). I also have a second one which is waiting to be painted (I had to do a bit of emergency filling on it).

I have dug out a GZG mech from the cupboard and have re-based it ready for priming (it fell off the base because it wasn't pinned). Unfortunately, the weather outside is frightful... so priming is postponed until it improves.

Luckily, I took a day's leave on Friday because I drove my son to college because 'my alarm didn't go off'... which it did because I heard it. The 'Snooze button' will be the death of the world one day...

I won an auction on E-Bay for the last model in the set of these:

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It was Run-Valam and it means that I have all of them in boxes; safe for a rainy day (once the kit arrives).

I think that about covers it... 

Saturday, we will be picking up Charmmy from my sister's so that will be fun.

I will be posting a few pix later so watch this space :)

See you from limbo!

Sunday

It is Sunday again. I am in the house-hold driving seat because my better half is a bit poorly so I have been to the shops and prepared dinner.

I had one of my late nights again last night...02-30hrs due to not being sleepy. I had the opportunity to surf a bit and get a bit more varnishing done. Speaking of varnishing... here is a pic:

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Varnishing has been a bit of a pain really. I have been gloss varnishing by hand, followed by a brush matt-coat and the matt hasn't been very good at all. That has led me to get a few cans of spray varnish (which is REALLY matt) to give them a final coat. Three coats of varnish seems a bit excessive but it keeps me busy. As you can see from the pic, I have got my Void stuff and Beetle-bot stuff on the the table and will be starting on the Beetle-bot brush-matt coat this afternoon. 

Yesterday's trip to Hobby-Craft also produced a couple of packets of Milliput so that I can bulk out armatures for a couple of sculpts I have to do. They will be caricatures of friends at work and will be about 4-6 inches tall. You never know, it may stimulate the artistic juices! I also have two other sculpts that I have promised to do so I really need to find my mojo fast!

In other news, I have spent far too much money on another little passion... Megaro Zamac kits. Looking at the following pic:

Click the Pic!

I have already got five with 'Va-Gal' on his way from Germany (too much money but it was one of those things) and only 'Run-Valam' to find. There are two others that aren't in the picture (a Harrier gerwalk and Phantom gerwalk) but I am not really bothered about them. I really don't know why I am collecting them... it is probably nostalgia but they are fairly nice kits... even if they look a bit 'Power Rangers'.

Well... that's about it for now. I'm off to find some Paracetamol and a nice glass of water.

See you from the bottom of the deep, blue, sea!

Fairly random update.

Before I start the post proper, I'd like to welcome Exiztenzial to Inso's World. Welcome to the blog and I hope that you gain some enjoyment as you walk around the paths and look at the inhabitants here.

Well...what can I say? I've had a bit of a slow week when it comes to hobby stuff and only started painting last night.

I know why... my painting table has too much sitting on it... and I've got nowhere left to put the stuff I am not in the mood to paint. This is my interim cupboard...the place all my stuff goes before it finds a permanent home in a case:

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As you can see, I have run out of space. The entire top shelf needs varnishing and everything except the urban troops and large mushroom on the bottom shelves need varnish too... (and a few need painting of course).

In order to try to alleviate the problem I have ordered a new case from Kaiser Rushforth that has been selected to house the Urban Grymn (the first two platoons) and as soon as it arrives, one of the platoons are ready to be packed away... but the main issue is the huge amount of varnishing I need to do. I am really not motivated towards getting it done but I am sure I'll bite the bullet at some point.

On a completely different note, I now have a Strikedog, Rabidlydog and Redshoulder all in 1/60 scale. That means I have a lovely selection of arms, legs, weapons and other bits and bobs to really customise a future project with. My plan (as I have already mentioned) is to make the various components cast-able so that I can build an army of them. I will be simplifying things with the minimum amount of components for each robot... but it will take a huge amount of time so they are packed away for now.

Continuing with the robot theme, I have also managed to get hold of another Megaro Zamac kit. Here is the range:

Click the Pic!

I have just picked up 'Jhau-Zamac' and only need to find 'Run-Valam' and 'Va-Gal' to complete my goal. I have been trawling E-bay on regular occasions and at the moment, there is a 'Va-Gal' for sale in Germany...but I refuse to pay £40-00 for it! I am sure that I will get lucky at some point.

It is Salute next week! That means I have to decide what to buy and also sort out getting there. I think that there may be a few pre Salute posts here in the run up to the event so keep an eye out.

Finally...I have finished 'The Duplicate Adventures' and have started a new story 'Rebirth'. Click the links to have a bit of a read, although I can see Rebirth getting a slow start (because of Salute). Feel free to comment... every day is a learning day, after all.

Well... I think that about finishes things for today. I will be ticking along with the Grymn for the little Pod squad today but I doubt I'll get to a photograph-able position so i doubt there will be any more post today.

See you from the sunny side! 

Sunday...again...

It is Sunday again and to say that I have had a flat week would be an understatement.

The down-side is that I have no pictures to show off.

The good-side is that I have managed to achieve a fair amount of 'boring stuff'. We all know what the boring stuff is...trimming stuff off sprues, sanding resin so that it fits, filling gaps in miniatures, under-coating, varnishing...you know...the stuff that has to be done but doesn't add any obvious value to the end product.

Well...this week I have:

1. Received 3 Sand Carriers from Scotia Grendel and have cleaned, sanded, assembled and gap filled. I still need to fill in the odd air bubble hole though.
2. Carried on with my miniature sculpt. Not too far to go...just arms and detailing...then I'll show it off.
3. Sculpted 15 shoulder-pads, 10 helmet badges and 2 shield handles for my Enforcers.
4. Continued building up the cockpit on my mini-flier...and converted the nose cannon.
5. Won an item on E-bay...more to come on that one.

...so it isn't as if I've done nothing...it's just that I've done nothing to show off.

On a completely different note, I learned all about being the perfect husband today. How?...you may ask. Well, I was in Model Zone and saw that the Star Wars, 1/72nd scale, Clone Trooper Gunship was on sale for £9-99...knocked down from £26-99. There were three on the rack. I have wanted to buy them since they were released and finally, I had every excuse...but I realised that my hobby spending has been fairly high recently...so I bought my wife a CD instead.

Sometimes, the hobby has to take a back seat.

My recent E-bay victory! A bit of back story...

...back in the 1980's, mecha model kits were the big thing. Revell brought out a range of Robotech robots that were in various scales...Talos, Gartan, Aqualo...yes...those were the days! Well, amongst all of the Robotech, Macross and Mospeada kits were a range called Megaro Zamac and these were particularly dear to my heart...

I am very glad to say that I have just won Jha-Giga to go with my Da-Web, Ma-Drum and Dha-Gards kits...only three (or if I wanted to go all out, five) kits to go to complete the collection. Here's the poster with the kits on:

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The poster doesn't show a Phantom and Harrier in Gerwalk form...hence I am not too worried about finishing that side of the collection.

Good stuff, eh?!

Well...it is a Bank Holiday again so I have another day at home tomorrow. If all goes to plan, I will be able to finish filling the three Sand Carriers and continue with the rest of the sculpting. As an aside, I am sculpting in a slightly different way...I am using clay-shapers to try to smooth down the joins between details. I'll post more about this once my little sculpt is finished.

From now on, I will be having a nice glass of Port tonight...so I won't be hobbying any more this fine Spring evening...but tomorrow...well, hopefully some progress but I guess we'll see.

See you when the rain falls!