On The Workbench

Well with a full time job and two cats to look after, time is always short for hobby related stuff (thank Tzeentch I don't have any kids yet...). No battle report just yet (that'll take a while to write), so just a quick update on what is (amongst a crap-ton of other stuff) currently on my workbench (desk).

Something I've just completed (sort of):

 These guys are the first five of a squad of ten Imperial Army troopers! Yes that's right, 'Army'. In 40k Rogue Trader they weren't yet Imperial Guard, they were army. They'll hopefully be used in some retro games of RT at some point, I have a couple of scenarios written already that involve them, some space marines, and some mystery aliens!

Next up:

Some mystery aliens! I know what they are, but can anyone else recognise the game these guys are from? Although the game was shit, these aliens are great looking models and make excellent 'generic' aliens, when you need something other than Orks or Eldar. I also quite like the hex bases they came with.

Finally:

New Necromunda terrain! It'll be some sort of fuel storage tank or something. I need to find a few doodads to add on to it so it doesn't look too plain once it's painted.

Fiends and Zoats

Right, it's about time I wrote some sort of new post or something, otherwise this blogging malarkey is going to grind to a halt before it's even started!

This is the cast I made of a model I'm very lucky to already own. I don't know when or where I bought it, but I've had it for ages. It is a Warhammer Fantasy Zoat. Rather than just paint up the one I have, I decided to make a mould of it and paint the cast ones. That way (as with everything I've moulded) I can have as many as I want! Without having to pay the extortionate evilbay prices (fuck you ebay!). This is something I intend to do with a lot of the vintage models I have (and will buy in the future), such as my classic 80s Chaos Warriors. I want to be able to have some great retro games without having to line the pockets of the ebay ripoff mechants!

Next up is a Fiend of Slaanesh. Unfortunately it's not the very first incarnation of the Fiend (I hope to acquire of those one day), I think it's from 4th or 5th edition Warhammer parhaps? I don't know. Either way it's a nice model and I moulded and cast it so I can have as many as I want for any Realms of Chaos games I might try to run.

And for the interested, this is what those models look like before they're assembled and painted. Even though the models above were the best casts I'd made, they still had some air bubbles here and there. Bit it wasn't much trouble to fill these in with a bit of green stuff. Not a too dissimilar process you might undertake to most other miniatures one might buy these days!

I should point out of course, that this moulding and casting is something that I do because these models are old, rare and not in production any more. I wouldn't, and I don't recommend, that anyone go casting up figures that are still readily available from the original manufacturers. Although it's not illegal to do so (as long as you don't try and sell them to anyone, then it is very much illegal!), it doesn't do the hobby any good, as these companies need to make money. They have a right to make a living just like everyone else (except the evilbay extortionists...). Having said that, casting up these vintage models is a great way to get lots of them for that retro army you've always wanted!

Next up, a battle report I think!

Bandwagons and Ambulls

So, what with all this blogging going on, I've decided to jump on the blog bandwagon and start my own! Since I don't have a website anymore, I figured this would be the next best method of showing what I've been doing in the world of wargaming and miniature painting. I'm hoping to talk about  painting, terrain building, scenario designing, moulding and casting, and possibly even some battle reports!

First up then, so get the ball rolling, here's a quick rundown of the first figure I moulded and cast up, a Citadel 'Rogue Trader' Ambull.

This is the mould, the box walls are made of lego (thus allowing a mould of any size) and you can see the first half of the two part mould already in the box with the 'master' figure and 'air vent' sticks. The second half of the mould was then mixed and poured in on top, and left to cure.

Next, after the mould had cured, it was cleaned up and prepped for casting (I'll try and do a post on that process at some point). The results of the first casts are always a bit ropey, as you never quite know where additional air vents need to be created. So the first few casts usually have a lot of bubbles in them. Here you can see the master figure with the first cast figure. The green bits are where I've had to fill in air bubbles with green stuff:

Having cast up a few of the beasts, I painted them up. Once painted, they're indistinguishable from the real metal ones (which, by the way, are rare as rocking horse shit!), until you pick them up, of course!

Until next time!...