Mamma, it's all over now!

It's very late and after being at the village hall since midday, the two final presentations of the Pantomime are over. Much fun was had by all, many friends were made, much money was raised and many tired people will be glad to see their beds tonight. Inso and his son won 'fun awards' for the hottest headgear (Inso said wearing his hat was like wearing a carrier bag) and being singularly/doubly legless (as Inso's son had to wear a bandage on his leg...which swapped legs for the last three shows...continuity; what's that?).

So another Pantomime is over and everyone got through unscathed. You'd think that Inso would be able to relax a bit now wouldn't you? Unfortunately he has to go away on a training course for a few days so he won't be about to give me stuff to post (so I doubt very much if I'll post anything). He is about tomorrow though...maybe I'll post something a bit earlier.

Before he went to Panto Inso finished off the small conversion to the head of the Vulkan and has sent a pic. I think that it looks much better than a little head perched on there but you can make your own mind up:



Well that's it for today (although it is now technically Sunday).

Catch you later.

Two down...two to go!

Two performances down and two more tomorrow, finishing with a booze up for Inso and the family in the local pub. Tonight everyone was tired and there were a few grumps here and there but on the whole the performance went well. There was a much bigger audience tonight and that meant that there was more noise, more cheers and more banter so that really helped.
Thank heavens it's Saturday tomorrow...everyone will finally get a decent lie in. Looking at Inso and his missus tonight...they need one!

So...what happened today? I'll tell you; Inso didn't feel like painting so he put a Vulkan together to get an idea of scale and to see what it looks like first hand. The following pix were taken to give everyone the same information:



Inso has said that he has already 'lost' the head and has converted the area to have a windscreen and a hatch lid. I'm sure there will be a pic of the conversion soon. He has suggested that one squad of three will have the same weapon fit but the other two squads may have different ones (he's still not 100% sure of the big fist).

Well from what I can see, the Vulkan suits the Grymn pretty well and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest assembled...AFTER THE COMMAND SQUAD IS PAINTED!!! (no chance of him listening to me though!).

Catch you tomorrow!

Thursday...IT'S SHOW-TIME!

Well, the title says it all. The Pantomime started tonight and Inso and his family have only been home for long enough to have a cup of tea and tuck the nippers in bed.

There were a few tiny, first-night nerves but on the whole the Pantomime was a great success and fun was had by all. The in-laws enjoyed the show and Inso, his wife and two children all did a splendid job (as did the rest of the cast). Everyone has said that this Pantomime has had the best atmosphere of all of them...everyone actually enjoyed all the rehearsals!!!

A very tried Inso will sleep well tonight!

As for the Grymn command squad...just the first highlights have been done on the brown areas so there hasn't been a lot of progress but Inso can be forgiven because he has been preparing for the big night today.

For a picture today, we have something cheery and almost in the pantomime spirit. He's the Tango Man (who looks a bit like a Genii)...enjoy:

Tuesday...the last rehearsal!

Inso has just finished his tea (at 22-00hrs!) so this is a bit of a late one tonight. He and his family, have just got back from rehearsals which went on much longer than usual because the band was there for the first time. Of course there was complete chaos! I can never understand why the band is never there until the last rehearsal...the cast gets used to recorded music, then the band turns up and plays everything at a different pace in a different key!

The good news is that everything went pretty well and hopefully everything will go well on the night. Inso is currently suffering with dizziness so he won't be getting anything else done tonight (he should have had a bit more to eat today...muppet!).

On a more miniature related theme, the chaingunner turned up so Inso was chuffed that he didn't have to raise complaints against the seller (he e-mailed the seller earlier and there was a misunderstanding and apologies were exchanged). Continuing the theme, Inso managed to get the fatigues on the command squad finished today and has now got as far as having base coted the armour. There are no pix but tomorrow should see some, as it is a complete day off from Pantomime so there will be time for painting and pix.

Today the MIGHTY MONGO makes an appearance in lieu of Grymn pix:


See you tomorrow!

Monday...more rehearsals.

Well, Inso has basically had a day off from everything miniature related today. The only thing that he has managed to do is buy 6 more Vulkan Battle-suits and ANOTHER Viridian marine sergeant (hopefully a male one this time). He's also come clean to his long suffering wife about buying two more Tiger APCs from the US...of course she just looked at the ceiling and let him off with a tut (she's a real gem!).

The command squad is sitting, waiting for paint but tomorrow is another Panto day so they may not get to see any.

Tonight at rehearsals, was complete chaos. Cues were missed, lines forgotten and children were running riot. I think that everyone was tired out so they were a bit irritable. Inso bought a 'bald head with Einstein hair' wig today (to use while playing the Old Dance Director) and when he took a deep breath to say his lines...he drew in half the wig hair and nearly choked to death! It was funny to watch but it was a good job it was a rehearsal (as he had plenty of opportunity to get his colour back and compose himself)...hairspray will be used to prevent a recurrence.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some photos of the pantomime when everyone is in costume. Inso looks a picture as the jester...you can't see very much of him as the Old Dance Director.

I'm sorry everything is Pantomime orientated at the moment...but that's just how it is.

Just to finish off on a high note, here is a pic of a rather cheeky sci-fi sniper from Freebooter Miniatures...enjoy:


See you tomorrow!

Slower Sunday...

First of all, I was asked what a Vulkan Battle-suit looked like so I have found an image from the net to let everyone know what they look like. I don't own the picture and it remains the property of whoever originally posted it...


The pic shows the same box that Inso got through the post. as you can see, they look very nice :).

On to other news, Inso and his family have been over at the village hall doing Panto rehearsals again today. This time it was 'in costume' as there were newspaper reporters there, taking pix. As a result, there was a lot of fun being had and that slowed down proceedings a bit so Inso hasn't managed to get much painting done today, with the exception of varnishing yesterday's completed squad.

This morning, Inso managed to learn the rest of his lines, hunt for the rest of the items needed for his costumes and sew a few more bells onto his Jester hat and collar. As you can see, today has been dominated by panto related stuff.

Tomorrow...the In-laws arrive. That means there is likely to be a bit more of a slow down in miniature painting. I guess I'll have to start looking through the galleries again.

See you tomorrow!

Super Saturday!

What a day! Not only did the Vulkan Battle-suits arrive today but I've seen them and they are extremely cool (and appear to be perfect for little Grymn Sentinel proxies). They also appear to have been sculpted by Kev White (of Hasslefree Miniatures fame) so it goes to show that even when he doesn't know who's sculpted his miniatures, he knows what he likes when he sees it.

The pantomime rehearsals also went very well. Inso has nearly learned all his lines and will have them sorted by tomorrow...which is lucky because there will be newspaper reporters there to take pictures and gain opinions...so tomorrow will be fun for him.

What else? Well it would appear that I was wrong about what Inso could achieve today because it seems that he has...only gone and finished the Grymn squad! Not bad considering he was at rehearsals for 4 hours today and being busy doing other things as well. Here they are, by the way:



Inso has a command squad to paint now and then the platoon will be finished. He must be keen because the next squad is already sitting on the painting table ready to be started.

After all that...I'm off for now. There will be more rehearsals tomorrow so I can't say what will happen miniatures wise so I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

Catch you tomorrow!

Hah...I remembered Friday this week!

Well it's Friday and I actually remembered this week...so it's a good start!

Inso has been fairly busy today and has finished all the weapons on the Grymn but hasn't taken pix. He has had to stop for now because he is having difficulty focusing. It would seem that this week's painting schedule has caught up with him a bit.

Today, a parcel with four more Viridian marines turned up. They are a grenade launcher, rocket launcher, sniper and sergeant. Unfortunately the sergeant is the same one he already had...but there's the breaks when you go for random blisters.

The saga of the Gill Worm took a new form today as Inso gave it away to someone on the Forum of Doom. There's not a lot I can say about artistic temperament but I guess Inso has some. He posted it of to a guy whose user name is 'Rod the Worm' and in Inso's own words, 'who else could I possibly send it to?'. I suppose he has a point. The good thing is that it is going to a home to be painted and not cast; that means he can sculpt bigger ones without worrying about IP infringement.

Well, that's about it for tonight. There is panto for most of the day tomorrow so I doubt if very much will get done...but you never know!

See you tomorrow!

Thursday...again!

Inso sent this pic over today and it shows that, true to his word, he has finished all the brown bits. He even managed to paint a bit extra on the knives (which you can't see):

(Remember to click the pic for a bigger version!)

As he puts it "now it is the fun bit...guns and heads". That means they should progress fairly quickly from now on.

The panto rehearsals are going well and apart from his lines in the last scene, lines are being remembered very well...which is good because the first performance is next Thursday. To say he's nervous would be a complete lie...he loves making an arse of himself, does Inso!

Whilst having a look through his winning bids on E-bay, Inso noticed that one of the buyers was no longer registered and had removed all his items from the site. I hope that the seller honours his purchase (the Viridian Chain-gunner) otherwise there will be cursing and lots of hassle trying to get refunds. Again...we'll have to wait and see.

Well, that's it for tonight.

See you tomorrow!

...squeak...it's Wednesday...

Well, it's been a much slower day today. The Grymn now have brown boots, gloves and pouches and the highlights have been started but that's about it. I think Inso has burned himself out over the last couple of days but he assures me that tomorrow he will have the brown finished. I think he's doing OK...certainly better than the time since Christmas, during which the same Grymn have sat getting dusty.

Until next weekend, there won't be many free evenings for Inso because there are a lot of Panto rehearsals (the show starts next Thursday!). The good news is that he can get some painting done during the day because he is on leave.

More news on the Tiger front...they are both being dispatched from America on Monday and should be here 7 - 10 days later. That will be interesting to see because they are already assembled and are of indeterminate condition. Hopefully the gamble has paid off and they will be great...we'll have to wait and see, I suppose.

The Hasslefree parcel arrived today and that meant that the Grymn for the cavalry turned up (along with some other bits and pieces). The down side to the arrival was the fact that the Gill Worm turned out to be a bit small for the planned rider...so it looks like he'll be side-lined and not used. It's a shame but it goes to show that it sometimes helps to have all the required items at hand when working on an idea. On the plus side, there was a free Grymn in the parcel as a sorry for the parcel being delayed a little...unnecessary but a testament to the excellent service that Hasslefree miniatures provides.

When it comes to the Grymn, all are welcomed and none will be left out...Inso can always be relied upon to find a home for them!

There are only two more parcels due to arrive (apart from the Tigers); a Veridian marine chain-gunner and a pack of 3 Vulkan battle-suits. Then it will be NO MORE SPENDING for Inso...well...until he goes to Salute of course.

See you tomorrow!

ROOOOAAAARRRR! It's Tuesday.

You know what they say....

..."you spend all day waiting for a bus and then three come along all at once..."

Well the same could be said about Tiger APCs. Inso has told me that after a discussion about paint-schemes on Tiger APCs over at 'The Miniatures Pages', he has entered into negotiations to obtain two more! What's more, the deal has been done and all that he is waiting for is postage confirmation and payment details...and they'll be on their way from the good old U S of A! Obviously, more Tigers means a re-think on what to do with them but I'm sure that some cool idea will surface.

Well tonight there is definitely no picture. Inso is sat in a chair rubbing the back of his neck because he has been in the painting chair a lot today. The ten Grymn now have completed armour and base coated boots to go with their finished fatigues. They are progressing nicely and at the moment it is paint straight from the pot, rather than mixing colours, so Inso can tick along at his own pace for a few processes.

To completely change the subject, you should have seen Inso earlier. He was completely oblivious to everything going on around him as he was sat in front of the computer singing along to 'Chuchy Face' from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! He has found all of the Pantomime songs on You Tube and has managed to get some with the Lyrics being flashed up 'Karaoke' style so he has been singing away like a canary all day...

...Laugh? I almost fell off my chair!

Well, that's it for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow and maybe have a pic or two to show off.

Sunday; busy Sunday...

Today, Inso has been painting his Grymn squad! He has base coated and highlighted the first layer of cloth and has finished the first layer of 'blobs'. From what he says, the hardest thing about painting these particular Grymn is the green part of the fatigues. Now that has been done, it should be down hill all the way from now on...so there should be plenty of progress in a short space of time. Inso hasn't taken any pix but assures me that he is on the right track.

Sunday night is Pantomime night and Inso, his wife and two children were off walking the boards this evening. There was a full run through tonight, with singing, dancing and plenty of lines being read. The whole family are doing pretty well with the learning of lines but still need a few cues during the second act. Next week (or this coming week), there are a lot of evening rehearsals so there won't be too much painting going on...fortunately Inso is on Leave so he'll have time during the day to get the painting done.

Inso has a parcel waiting for him at the Post Office and can't wait to find out what it is...with so much E-bay action lately, it could be anything. He seems to be a bit like a cat on a hot tin roof...he's a bit excited.

Well, seeing as there are no current pix, I thought I'd dig out his other project, a Neu Swabian League platoon (for Stargrunt II from GZG). The following picture shows the command squad:


Inso has another painted squad and two more on the go. These are on his 'finish before I go to Iraq' list but after all the cavalry malarky I would be surprised if he manages it. We'll just have to see.

Catch you tomorrow.

Wednesday pantomime fun!

Well, tonight it is a bit quiet because Inso has been away at rehearsals for the Pantomime.

This year he has gone for a local Pantomime rather than the one at his base because he was away in Iraq when the pantomime was running and this is the only way he could fit one in.

This time around he is playing a merry Jester and a doddering old Band Master (he gets about a bit!). The Pantomime is 'The Pied Piper of Old Helfordia' which is a localised version of the Hamlin version. It is a very local affair with only a handfull of audience expected to attend...but the old people would be upset if it didn't get made so there will at least be one or two people there to appreciate the effort!

So...what's on show tonight? Well...no cavalry updates I'm afraid so it's another delve into the gallery. Today it is the turn of Brigade Games and their smashing Alien Invasion miniatures. They are quite large (30mm tall) but I expect that just makes them easier to paint:


I hope to see you again tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Sunday Cavalry

What with it being Sunday (and that means Pantomime practice), I will put up todays update early because I don't expect there to be too much more progress from Inso today. As far as progress goes, Inso has chipped away at his Trhino and has bulked it up a bit and added a little more detail. The little beast now has eyes as well so it is starting to look a little more complete:



Inso has also mentioned that he has added stirrups to the rider but won't be adding any reigns because he says that the beast would have been raised from a pup and would be trained to a level that would make reigns unnecessary.

From an idea on Friday, this sculpt has progressed at a great rate and I think that it should be finished fairly soon at this rate!

Unless any more progress turns up, I'll catch you tomorrow!

Sunday night is Panto night...

This evening Inso went to rehearsals for the pantomime. This year it is the Pied Piper of Hamlett and he is playing both the Jester and an aged band leader.

Rehearsals were OK but the dancing was a bit too complicated for Inso whose feet kept getting confused...fortunately there is plenty of rehearsal time left.