Thursday 24 April 2008

Thursday...it's going to be a while.

It's Thursday and everything is set.

Bags are packed, the motorbike is in storage and farewells are in the process of being made.

This blog will be a bit quiet from now on as Inso is preparing to launch off into the wild blue yonder.

The next entry will be sent from the sunny Gulf and will be distinctly different to what you are used to. Not a lot of hobby and probably not a lot of anything else. Just babble to let us know that there is still life in the old dog.

Yesterday, Inso got a very nice little present from a friend over at the Forum of Doom. It was a packet of 10 little cavalry miniatures called Fubarnii. They have been made and cast up by a guy called Carcharoth and they really are fantastic. It was all Inso could do not to unpack his hobby stuff and get to work on them...but alas, real life is beckoning too loudly at the moment and he will have to wait until he gets back to start on them.

Well, that's it for now!

Catch you soon.

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Tuesday...the finality of it all...

Well, that's it. It has finally happened. Inso has packed all his hobby stuff away and has started preparations for his little trip abroad.

Gone are the paints, the putty, the brushes.

Gone is the newspaper and water glass.

Gone are the Grymn and cats.

Gone is the lamp and photo screen.

The table is bare.

What it all means is that there will be no more painting/sculpting posts for a couple of months. There may be the odd rules or fluff post but from now on the posts will be few and far between.

Inso would like to thank all those who have visited his site over the last few months and says that he will have plenty of stuff to write about when he gets back in July.

I doubt very much if there will be further posts over the next few days as preparations continue for his trip.

Catch you later.

Monday 21 April 2008

Monday.

Today has been a lazy day for Inso. He has sorted out his lap-top for his travels and has been shopping for things like travel sickness pills and batteries.

The post Salute messages have kept him busy as well so he has been on-line quite a lot. Deals have been brokered and parcels have been wrapped and sent.

Today has also been the start of lots of 'real world' chores that will lead to a long drive to the air port on Friday so things are getting a bit melancholy. As the hobby stuff gets packed away, Inso will get more and more depressed so I doubt if there will be too much info coming out over the next few days...and then for the next two months!

Catch you later.

Maybe...

Sunday 20 April 2008

Sunday...everybody is home.

I would apologize for not posting over the last couple of days but I'm not going to because there is one word that will explain everything:

SALUTE.

Inso's Salute thing goes like this:

Friday: travel up to stay with family in Buckinghamshire: takes 6 hours and everybody nearly gets killed by a lorry pulling out without looking.

Saturday: up at 6am, train into London, stand in Q-busters Queue for an hour and enter show. Do show and leave at 5pm to travel back to Bucks. Stay up until 12-30am trying to fix father-in-laws computer.

Sunday: travel back to sunny Cornwall.

So...the show.

What did Inso buy?

Lots and lots of Grymn, and some Kiergi from Hasslefree miniatures.
Some Aliens and weapon sprues from Black Scorpion miniatures.
Some Grey aliens from Copplestone castings.
Some Grey aliens from Griffin miniatures.
Some Dinosaurs from Magister Militum.
Some Dvarg (space Dwarfs) and a super hero called 'Armourdillo' from Black Hat miniatures.
Some plastic ACW miniatures from Perry's miniatures.

What else happened?

Inso met a lot of people from the Forum of Doom and put faces to a lot of names. They were a great bunch and lots of chat went on. He also met up with Sally, Kev and Neil on the Hasslefree stand and swapped ideas, shared chat and generally got on very well with them.

There was a lot of cool stuff on display. The action man scaled, radio controlled tanks were great (sound effects, smoke...awesome!). There were so many cool games going on that it was difficult to take them all in. Games of note were the Frothers gang fight, OP MARKET GARDEN (1/35 scale!), Wargods of Olympus (lots of big miniatures, and Wendigo) and all of the vast armies for the ancient wargames (from toy soldiers all the way down to 6mm scale).

There were people dressed up as Daleks, Stormtroopers, Stargate troopers, Romans and US army WWII. There were also a few of the fairer sex dressed in very gothic and 'interesting' pirate gear (there were some male pirates...but they weren't as noticeable!).

There was also a lot of new stuff on show...too numerous to mention (although the US power armour for Secrets of the Third Reich was very nice).

So.. a great day!

Catch you later.

Thursday 17 April 2008

Thursday WIP...

Just to show that he has been doing something over the last few days...other than surfing the net...Inso sent this WIP pic of his heavy squad (with hanger on):



The armour and camouflage gear is done but the rest is still to be finished. It's a start but there needs to be a whole lot more finished if he is to get them done before he goes to Iraq.

All that is on his mind is Salute at the moment...

...you should try talking to someone when all they want to think about is Salute...I might just as well bang my head on the wall!

Catch you tomorrow.

Wednesday 16 April 2008

Wednesday; day of Catachan Green

Apparently, and I'll quote Inso here...

"Catachan Green paint is like painting with watered down choclate".

From that, you'll gather that he has been painting armour today. He hasn't got too far because of what he just said. He got fed up with the paint drying out so quickly that it didn't go on very well.

Apart from that...he has put his revised Salute pre-order into Hasslefree. Here are the new Salute releases (all the pix on the linked page):

http://heresyminiatures.com/forumofdoom/index.php?topic=8055.0
He would also have loved to have pre-ordered some aliens from Black Scorpion but they aren't taking pre-orders. Here's a link to the aliens (scroll down to find them):

http://heresyminiatures.com/forumofdoom/index.php?topic=8064.0

I would list his pre-order but it's mostly Grymn...as expected.

Apart from all that, Inso has been mostly surfing the web today so didn't get much done. It's great to be on holiday!

Catch you later.

Tuesday 15 April 2008

Tuesday...

Sorry I didn't post last night but there was no news. Today, there is little more.

Painting has re-started on the Grymn heavy weapons squad and a straggler that was sitting on the shelf. The camouflage is complete and work is going to start on the armour soon.

The 2 Matakishi cats have been based and undercoated. One of the cats is sat on a bed, the other has a dead mouse on his base. The one in the bed is base coated and will end up ginger. The other one is undercoated and will end up black. Inso has two real cats and they are being the inspiration for the Matakishi cats.

Salute fever is everywhere! Lots of new releases from lots of different companies mean that plans are changing on an hourly basis. Lists are being written and torn up. Pre-orders are being made and changed. Roll on Saturday!

The big tidy has started in the Inso household. He has all but cleared his painting table and military kit is being sorted and packed. As far as I can tell, this means that the focus will remain on the Grymn and cats and the rest will be dictated by 'real world' chores and plans.


I'd like to take a moment to say something that I feel strongly about.

I'd like to offer my sincere condolences to all those families who have been touched by service bereavement. I am humbled by the latest news of the two RAF gunners losing their lives. My heart goes out to their families, friends and colleagues.

Catch you later.

Sunday 13 April 2008

Sunday; a day of books.

I know it's early but Inso has been in touch and said that there will be no updates today. He said that he has spent the entire day so far, working on his Grymn 40k army codex.

So, what has he done? Well, the units have all been decided, fleshed out and points values have been added. The organisation has been finalised and all the units placed in the correct positions. The weapon stats are done and even the vehicles have been sorted out. All that is left is a war gear list, some pictures and a host of fluff to fill the pages and the codex will be complete. So far, the page count is 19...so Inso has definitely been busy today.

What else did he mention? He has varnished Mystic Pete and has based the first of the Matakishi cats.

Ideas for the Pilum drop ship are coming thick and fast and there is a second VTOL; the Stiletto gunship that is in the design stages as well.

That's it for now.

Catch you later!

Saturday 12 April 2008

It's been a LOOOONG Saturday.

Inso has recently returned from visiting his family after a six hour round trip and is pretty tired after the drive. He has sent this pic over so he has been able to do a little hobby work today but says that he is definitely having a night off and going to bed early:



The pic is of the fifth mystic warrior, Pete...well he's going to join them even though he doesn't happen to be wearing the robe!

Apart from that, there is nothing more to add. No parcels, no E-bay bids and no other painting.

There are plans afoot for a drop ship...but you don't want to know about that...do you? It will be called a Pilum (like the Roman javelin) and will carry up to 16 troops...but that's enough of that; you wouldn't be interested in knowing what it looks like...

Catch you later!

Friday 11 April 2008

Friday gloom.

Inso is not very happy tonight. He was on the verge of finishing the fifth Mystic Warrior...he only had some black lining to do. What happened? Because he is so tired, he managed to drop the mini into his black paint. Instead of taking pix, he has had to repair the paint job and will not be finishing tonight. He said that he's not painting any more tonight because he has lost the enthusiasm for it.

Well, what else is there to say? We'll start with E-bay. Inso has had a few bids in and has had mixed fortunes. He lost the bid for a bunch of Syntha stuff but won a couple of bids on some more Vasa and Veridian marines from Void. He is now waiting for another 10 minis to arrive to bolster his Void forces.

Next up is a little something that Inso likes to call his little kitties. Whilst surfing over at Frothers Unite, he noticed that Matakishi has a new miniature for sale...a little fat cat that is the same as his mascot; so he bought 2 and will be painting them up to look like his two family pets. The miniatures will be joining his wife's collection of cats, on the fire place.

Last night Inso finished his last appraisal and can relax easy tonight. It took an absolute age for him to find the right words so he didn't get any painting done. As a result, I didn't post last night.

Tomorrow Inso and his family are off to visit his family so that he can say his farewells before going to the Gulf so there will be little hobby stuff done.

The WH40k Grymn army list is coming along nicely. Weapon stats are nearly complete and the unit listings and details are starting to be written. Inso has said that he is having a few problems with some of the terminology but has said that it won't stop him plodding on. Pretty soon, he'll have a few hints as to which direction his army list is going.

Inso is on leave for a week now so he's already planning what to do. Obviously he has a lot of preparations to make, both for the Gulf and Salute (it's NEXT SATURDAY!!!) but I'm sure there will be time for a bit of painting, converting or whatever...

Well, I think that is about enough for today.

Catch you later!

Wednesday 9 April 2008

Wednesday already...

OK, I missed yesterday's post but I have warned you that things may get a little spread out over the next few months so I suppose it should be expected.

Yesterday Inso was supposed to write an appraisal, had a disrupted evening and wasn't able to concentrate (Liverpool was playing Arsenal and his son is a football supporter who likes Liverpool) so ended up writing the first part of a completely new WH40k list for Grymn.

So far he has decided upon unit types, their position in the WH40k force organization chart, the weapons, vehicles and squad/platoon organization.

Next he will be working out weapon profiles, troop profiles, the armoury and equipment section and the stats for the vehicles.

After that...points values.

The only information that I am allowed to divulge is that the whole thing revolves around four-man fire-teams.

To change the subject, Inso finished two more appraisals tonight so he only has one more to go (which he will be writing tomorrow). He has also put a small amount of paint on the fifth Mystic Warrior but again...he hasn't got far enough to show it off yet. You never know, if he finishes the appraisal early tomorrow then he may get a bit more painting done.

As a result of a conversation over at the Forum of Doom Inso traded one of his Bradley 1/48 scale IFVs for a bunch of Hellmites from Heresy Miniatures. They look like giant ticks and will be used as either cavalry mounts or enemies for the Grymn...although, with Inso, you never know!

Catch you later!

Monday 7 April 2008

MOOOONNNNDDDDAAAYYYY!

There is little to say today that wasn't covered yesterday. Inso has painted a small amount on his latest Mystic Warrior but not enough to show off. He hasn't been able to do too much tonight because he has been doing homework again.

Whether it is because of appraisals or going away again, Inso has been sleeping less and less. Although it will mean that he becomes more and more imaginative, it also means that he becomes too tired to put his ideas down on paper or as painted miniatures. Come the end of the week we will see, as he will have finished his appraisals.

Next week Inso is on holiday. He is planning on sorting out kit, painting miniatures, preparing for Salute and tidying up his 'hobby spaces' ready to leave his family without the worry of tripping over his stuff. There is likely to be quite a lot going on...but I can't guarantee that it will be too hobby related. As I keep saying...we'll have to wait and see!

Catch you tomorrow.

Sunday 6 April 2008

Sunday...or Monday Eve...

God it's depressing, isn't it? You work all week to have the weekend off and then BOOM!...it's Monday again.

Well what happened today? A new paint job started. A fifth Mystic Warrior has been cleaned up, based and undercoated. There is the odd patch of base-coat colour but Inso hasn't got much more than that done. Of course, there isn't ACTUALLY a fifth Mystic Warrior yet so Inso had to convert one. He's told me not to say too much more so what I will say is that it will have face paint like the others and also has a sword. Not a lot but that's all your getting for now.

The other four Mystic Warriors got some varnish.

We've had a typical English day today. We've had brilliant sunshine, freezing cold, hail, snow and rain all in one day. It's great being English!

Catch you later.

Saturday 5 April 2008

OK...it's Saturday...

Sorry about missing a couple of days but nothing was forthcoming from Inso so there was not a lot of point posting. Having said that, Inso has had a busy couple of days. He has written more Grymn fiction and posted it in the Hasslefree Fluff section of the Forum of Doom so if you are interested in a bit of light reading, check it out.

Inso has also managed to finish painting his Mystic Warriors. Here's a pic of Mystic Kieran:

And here's a pic of the warriors all together:



There's not a lot more to say so I'll catch you tomorrow.

Wednesday 2 April 2008

It's a wonderful day...

Inso is a bit chuffed. Not only has he managed to overcome some deep-rooted inability to write a staff appraisal (he has finished one at last!!!) but he also received a really cool, surprise parcel.

Staff appraisals are one of those things that instill you with dread fear as a result of the responsibility that is on your shoulders to accurately assess the subject you have to write for. Inso has been staring at five such appraisals for the best part of 6 weeks and has been completely unable to write them. He says he is appraisal-phobic or something! Well, he finished one tonight so hopefully, the flood gates are open.

On to the surprise parcel. Well, Inso recognised that it was from the nice people at Hasslefree Miniatures and opened it straight away. He hadn't ordered anything so didn't know what to expect. So, what was inside? I'll tell you...three of the brand new, unreleased (as yet), helmeted, light-infantry Grymn! To say that Inso was happy is a huge understatement. They are as brilliant in the flesh, as they are on the Hasslefree Miniatures Work Bench. Awesome.

...The sad bit? Inso has appraisals to do (or else!) so he can't paint them straight away. It is probably a good thing as he has a few ideas as to what to do with the future releases so would probably mess things up if he painted them too soon.

Today the realisation dawned on Inso. He only has three weeks odd, before going to the Gulf. His flight is booked and his courses are complete. His preparation is nearly over and his packing is going to have to start very soon. It is amazing what a kick in the pants it gives a person and they have to suddenly switch on and sort their life out.

Life is full of surprises...and shocks!

Catch you tomorrow.

Tuesday 1 April 2008

An early Tuesday post.

Inso has said that he will not have anything to show off today as he has some homework to do so I thought I'd post early today.

The three mystic warriors that he has been painting over the last couple of days have had a few adjustments made to them. After some suggestions on the Forum of Doom and on here, Luke and Meg have been black-lined and Jen has had shading added to her red cowl. When the fourth (and final) mystic warrior is finished, a picture of all four will be posted to show the improvements.

Keiran (the final mystic warrior) has been started but is unlikely to see much paint tonight.

...I forgot to mention that Inso had some more Void minis turn up from E-bay yesterday. They were a boxed set of five Vasa marines. They were sent as painted minis and are in a lovely shade of purple. Needless to say, they will be dropped in paint-stripper and re-painted before they grace any army of Inso's. They are similar to the Viridian marines that he already has (apart from the fact they have helmets and knee-pads) and will easily fit into the same army...maybe as veterans or something.

Not long now until Salute...Inso is getting very excited about going to London for the day. You never know, he may bump into you!

Catch you later.