AND INTO PAINT THEY GO !

Going to have to call an early close to Mechanismo May, as the house move/ sit/work starts on Monday, which means I will have limited access to the internet for the next four weeks, this also means I won't be able to comment on your blogs as well during this time, so apologies in advance.
So what did I actually manage in this shortened month ? Firstly I finished the FX medical droid

Next is a Imperial Droid R5 J2 that was a simple paint job

Next is another Imperial droid R4 I9 which was also just a paint.

Last to be finished was a RA7 protocol droid, it wasn't the pure black I hoped to do, but will finish that one later

Zippo and J4X-7  will be worked on at a later point, infact I'm thinking of modifying J4 so I can release it as a gun drone robot on the web site.
That's it for this post, and I'll see you all on the flip side, so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave

MECHANISMO UPDATE

So this week has been mostly taken up with painted orders and finalising the house move, which all being well will start next week. I have however made a bit of progress on my Mechanismo entries, first the FX medical assistant just needs the dome and umbilical arm finishing and will be ready for paint.

 J4X-7 looks less like a blob now, but still needs lot's of work, but I have decided to go with tracks for it's form of movement and probably going to go with sensors on the top pillar.

Zippo is the furthest along, and just needs his lower arms finishing and a couple of symbols, then on to the painting.

I have cast up an R4, R5, and 2 RA7's ready for painting so all going well should have these done shortly.

WHAT MAKES US TICK !
Been reflecting in recent months on what makes us take part in this hobby and why we do what we do ! Now I have played games with unpainted models, even paper tokens, but for me I get as much enjoyment out of making, and painting the models as I do gaming. I have also played solo, right up to tournament level gaming, and for me I always enjoyed the social aspect of gaming against someone, rather than controlling all the aspects. Now that's just the way I enjoy to play, and would never think of telling anyone that's the way to do it.
This then got me thinking about why we comment on other blogs, I've been commenting longer than I've been blogging by well over a year, and still like to comment as often as I can, which in recent months hasn't been as much as I used to due to constraints on my time, and if I have offended anyone because I've missed a post of yours, my deepest apologies, no slight was meant.
Now as we all have different tastes and interests, people may post up subjects from time to time that I have no interest in, but I still try to comment as I follow that persons blog, and like to show that I've seen their post, and respect the time and effort they've put into it.
What I'm trying to say is no matter how you enjoy this hobby, as long as your not hurting anyone else, enjoy it in whatever form makes you happy and remember we are a community that should support each other.
Until next time have FUN !
Cheers Dave

MECHANISMO MAY

This months painting challenge on azazelx blog is to paint mechanised pieces, as I want to do some more robots for both my Imperial Assault and A.B.C. Warriors I thought this is as good an opportunity as any to get my motivation on.
For Imperial Assault first I'd like to do some more R4's, R5's and RA7 protocol droids, probably going to do them all for my Imperial forces.
Next are some that are going to need building, first of these are the FX medical assistant, luckily enough I managed to get a good base model from Tritex Games so that should save time, and have started work on it already.

  Next is J4X-7 this is a model that was created by Fantasy Flight Games for IA, but they never made a model just an equipment card for Jarrod to use, as you may know I'd rather have a 3D model than a card so aiming to build and paint this as well.

The last one I'm aiming for this month is Zippo from A.B.C. Warriors, for those who don't know this robot he was introduced in the Volgan War series and recruited by the warriors to help continue their fight.

Will do updates as I go and a roundup at the end of the month, that's all for this post, so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave

STAR BAR

No I'm not giving away free chocolate, but continuing on with the cantina for my Star Wars project. Now no bar would be complete without it's tables stools and booth seats, so I've been working on these

They are almost finished, and then I will be casting them as I need multiple of them, I will also be making them available on the web site at a later point as well.
Now I've also been continuing on with the denizens of the cantina, these models came from Tritex Games, which I then converted to make them more like the characters in the film.
First is Arieil Schous who was in the original episode 4 and remained for the extended version as well.

Next we have Sal'torr Kal Fas who was also in both versions, as you can see from the reference picture I need a another one like this which is Hrchek Kal Fas

the third one is Lirin C'arn, who was in both versions but really obscure to spot. You will notice I haven't done the base on this one as I intend to remove him from it and sit him on a bar stool

I have also added another model to my Imperial forces The Grand Inquisitor, he appeared in the series Star Wars Rebels, he has Sith skills and was a formidable opponent the model was from FFG Imperial Assault.

In other news I will be at Entoyment Unit 2, Fleetsbridge Business Centre, Poole BH17 7AF on the 11 th of May running a Death Match demo day, so if your in the area please pop in and say hi.
That's all for this post, so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave

ARMOURED APRIL

So April's challenge this month on azazelx was two fold, firstly was to finish a squad of armoured troops. I actually managed two units, which I was very surprised about, firstly was my riot stormtroopers

and secondly I managed to finish the last three stormtroopers I needed to paint. Is this the last ? Probably not as I think I need a lot more, but I want to get some variation so may need to do some conversions on any more I buy. What would be great is several different leg options and multiple torso variations so I can have a multitude of options.

The Second part of Azazel's challenge was to do a army shot, so here is all my Imperial force that is finished

As a reward to myself for a) finishing all my stormtroopers and b) all the hard work I put in on the run up to Salute, I got a few new additions for Star Wars, I've finished the 3 FFG models I bought. Firstly is Green Greedo

Secondly I got the Wookie Warriors pack, I converted one so they didn't look exactly the same and did two different colour schemes based on the picture below.

I also got some more models from Tritex Games but I will be showing them at a later date, once I've finished the conversions.
That's all for this post so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave

CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES

Managed to get into the flow this week and finish the sculpting of HOTDA's treeman, just need to finish off the base to give it some thickness, which will make it easier for casting and make the casts more stable. I based the model on a Angel Oak, and wanted to give it more of a tree look than man.

I ran a poll on Twitter and Facebook, and the general opinion was they would like to see Fantasy figures and scenery next. So I've started work on this little monster a Griffin. This model has been sat on my desk for a long time, so will be good to finally get it finished. The base is a rough carved insulation foam which will need detailing before casting, there will be an optional mountain goat to go infront as prey, but you will be able to leave it off with no modification needed

I'm also finishing off the undead summoning well I showed a while back, and then starting some more Aztec style scenery, that I've had swimming around my head for a while.
My next post will be my entry  for Azazael's painting challenge, and yes it will be Star Wars related, so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave

FRESH START

I think I've now gone screen blind after spending most of the afternoon moving over all 120 posts from the old blog. While moving them over I noticed several things. First there are times I make no sense on what I'm writing ( I blame the constant pain fog I'm in for this), second there are times I barely explain anything I'm showing, and third I bounce around from one project to the next.
Is my new blog likely to be ant different, probably not ! Because this is my hobby and business blog, there will always be lot's of bouncing around from one project to the next, especially as I do commission work as well, you never know what you might be making next. As for my lack of explanation, I will make a serious effort to work on this element, as I understand how annoying it could be ! As for making no sense, that I can't do a lot  about, until they come up with a cure, but I will try to be clear as often as possible, and don't be afraid to ask if I'm not.
So what can you expect in my new space ? More of what I was doing on the last blog, sneak peeks at new releases that will be shown here first as WIP shots and the finished items will be shown here before anywhere else, tutorials on sculpting and painting, more of my own hobby pieces both old and new. Will there be BatRep's ? Not going to make any promises on this, if I get time, then yes, if I don't then no. In the last month I have played around 20 games of Death Match with my friend Griff, but we were too busy enjoying the games to take pictures and write up reports, but one thing I found out was no one race is guaranteed to win ! For me this is a great thing as it means the system is balanced.
Now the keen eye'd of you will have noticed that we had no new releases in April, this happened for two reasons, preparations for Salute, and finishing off a rather large project for Heroes of the Dark Age, a flying dragon. It is available as a single headed or twin headed version, the same as their walking dragon we built for them.

 So am I back onto new releases for WTW  ? Almost as I've just started a treeman for HOTDA pictured below about 3 hours work so far.

The problem I have for my new releases is what to do next, I've currently got fantasy pieces started, post apocalyptic pieces started, Sci-fi pieces started, and new bits for Death Match, and I don't know which to do first. If you'd like to post your preferences below this would be a great help.
That's it for this first post, so until next time have fun !
Cheers Dave