Recalcitrant Daze

Looted Wagons 17

2012-02-29T23:50:00.000Z

Update on the Looted Wagons, this is the second Destroya type Wagon with a hull mounted Boomgun.

I decided to use the mounting plate from the Demolisher Cannon for the Boomgun. Unfortunately this meant fiddling around doing angled plates on the front of the Russ as the Demolisher Cannon is mounted at an angle and I wanted the Boomgun to be parallel with the ground.

The Demolisher bits (i.e. the metal pieces) will be glued to the hull, the styrene tube however slots in place and will stay removeable for weapon destroyed results.

Started looking at the rear, but the plate isn't glued in place yet. This piece of styrene is just the base of the rear, I will break up the flat area.

Will get more done on it tomorrow so there should (should) be another update. I am out all Friday evening and night so I want to make good progress on the Wagon tomorrow so I can spend some time Saturday doing more casting...

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 8 (...and Gun Emplacement Mk II - 3)

2012-02-26T23:36:00.000Z

So today I had my casting hat on.

First up the plinths...

Will definately have to do a second set of moulds otherwise it'll take me all year to cast enough pieces. Alas I had to scrape out the tin to get enough rubber to do all these moulds. So need to order more rubber, again.

The plinths set up with the other walls pieces. Shows the two line system where the troops behind the second line can fire over the first line.

Will need to give the staight plinths a light sand at the ends, the small tolerance build up means I have some small gaps - in principle I don't mind this as I like the rough and ready look but would be nice to get it down slightly.

Militiaman Bob for scale.

Above shows the idea of the firing step. Planking slotted into the plinths with a support on the other side. Still need to sort the support out, at the moment one of the mounting plate moulds stands in.

At the same time as casting the plinths in plaster I also cast some mounting plates and rebar in resin.

Rebar - turned out nicely I think. The attempt to do a one piece mould worked, though I had to modify the mould by cutting a slit down it. While casting the rebar was fine I simply couldn't get it out, the ends simply snapped off when I tried to pull it out. The slit allows me to get it out easily enough but does mean I have a mould line. As you can see in the picture above I managed to get a piece of bent rebar by taking out the cast early and bending it while still soft, some masking tape held it in place while it hardened.

Mounting Plates - I estimate 1 in 4 will be chucked due to air bubbles, they are simply to small to mess around filling holes in. I did two moulds for these as I have a lot of them to knock out...

Some mounting plates in place (though not glued).

And to finish...

I also started casting the gun emplacement wall pieces, still need a few more to get the full length of wall required.

It was while casting the last piece I suddenly realised I hadn't actually used any of the rebar to see how it turned out so I pushed a bit into this wall panel.

Looted Wagons 16

2012-02-25T21:52:00.000Z

Well the first Looted Wagon is basically done. There is one obvious job left to do but I will build the second Wagon and then do the tracks on both of them together.

Will need to go back to this at the end and touch up the odd thing probably (noticed one thing while doing the pictures in fact). But for now I will move on to the second Wagon, the Destroya with a mini turret.

The weapons are removeable for Weapon Destroyed results while the hatch is unglued so an Ork or Grot can be added if desired later.

Tomorrow will be a casting day so expect an update on that while an update on the second Wagon should be on the cards in a couple of days.

Looted Wagons 15

2012-02-23T23:36:00.000Z

The first of the three Looted Wagons has progressed this evening.

As you can see there is still plenty left to do. The gap at the rear will have exhausts.

I decided the best thing to do is try and do one at a time as working on all three at the same time will just get confusing. I did do a little on the second wagon (as you can see in the last update) but for now I will get the first one finished before carrying on with the next one.

Looted Wagons 14

2012-02-20T23:54:00.001Z

Finally been able to start properly working on the three Looted Wagons.

I spent some more time stripping the remaining paint off two of the Russes (I couldn't face doing all three at once, i'll have a go at finishing the stripping of the other one in a day or two) and tonight I was able to start cutting and adding styrene.

Looted Wagon One:

The will be a classic 'Destroya' build - namely hull mounted Boomgun and a co-axial Big Shoota (made from an Assault Cannon to tie in with the Looted Chimera it will be fighting alongside).

Looted Wagon Two:

Also a 'Destroya' build with a hull mounted Boomgun as the first Wagon, but this one will have the additional weapons (Rokkit Launchas) in a small turret.

The first two will have similar hull designs, especially at the rear but the details will be different. The one having the small turret will obviously set them apart the most.

The third wagon will now have a turret mounted Boomgun, rather than being another Destroya.

I also stripped the paint off a battlecannon cut from one of the Russ turrets and added the tubing to it.

I will be working on the Defensive Wall bits tomorrow - namely doing the moulds. But the next update on here will probably on the Looted Wagons again as I won't do an update on the walls till the moulds are done and the first casts are made.

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 7

2012-02-16T21:28:00.000Z

Still no real model time available but I had to make some time to get some pictures of what arrived today, namely the latest batch of 3D prints.

Defensive Wall Plinths

First up we have the corner and straight Defensive Wall plinths:

Rather pleased how they turned out. Hopefully the upper panels will fit as nicely as this when the bottom piece is also a cast copy.

Quick shot to show the holes allowing the
excess powder to drain out of the hollow pieces.

Mounting Plates

Next up are the mounting plates. Due to the material used (Fine Ultra Detail) it isn't easy to make them out, but from what I can see they look sharp and pretty good. Only once I have cast them in resin will I know for certain how good they are.

Rebar

For the rebar I had two pieces cast, one in 'alumide' and one in 'white detail'.

The white detail rebar certainly looks to have a better finish so I will be trying to cast rebar from that piece. In hindsight I might of made the coil tighter slightly but I'm not too worried.

Left - Alumide
Right - White Detail

Emplacement Walls

The last things I had printed were the Gun Emplacement walls. Slightly jumped the gun getting them done this early but nevermind...

The emplacement walls are also hollow, drastically reducing the cost without any noticeable drawback.

I can't see me being able to start doing the moulds for these untill Sunday at the earliest, however I have set Sunday aside to work on the Looted Wagons so I may only get the plinths and mounting bracket moulds sorted.

So all being well i'll be casting the first pieces Monday or Tuesday.

Recalcitrant Daze - Been a bit quiet & MWC

2012-02-15T23:47:00.000Z

Recently life has been somewhat devoid of models, instead it has been full of building furniture, moving stuff from one place to another, sorting, chucking crap and so on.

I'm knackered.

However the three Looted Wagons are almost stripped so this sunday I will be starting on them properly, update to follow that night or Monday.

Miniature Wargame Conversion...

My first article is up on MWC. For a change it has no Orks in it, instead it is regarding some techniques in converting Nurgle vehicles.

It can be found here.

While you are there check out the competition the guys have running currently, it might give you some inspiration or motivation with a project.

Normal service should be resumed shortly...

Looted Wagons 13

2012-02-11T23:53:00.000Z

I know.

'No more Looted Wagons for a while...'

'Will work on my own Ork/Militia projects...'

So anyway i've been commissioned to build three Looted Wagons which I have now started work on.

I managed to get hold of three Leman Russ tanks off eBay which were in a good state and for a decent price.

Leman Russ, Leman Russ Demolisher & a new kit Leman Russ

The request was for three 'Destroya' type along the lines of these two Looted Wagons I did previously:

This will be a new thing for me as normally I would only build one vehicle at a time and I just don't do multiples. The only reason I did two Destroya's was because due to the second one being for the Bell of Lost Souls article.

However by giving each one something different and varying the look within the Destroya' style I hope the project will be enjoyable as building three vehicles which are completely different.

The basic pre-loot work has now started, this covers breaking the vehicle down and stripping paint. Only once this is done will I start to add to what is left.

I hoped to have them stripped today, but due to real life issues (including the repercusions of a leaking roof) and running out of Fairy Power Spray I couldn't get the paint off them. I hope tomorrow will see that done so that I can start cutting a gluing styrene next week.

Not a huge post I know, but I thought it would be nice to get the ball rolling on this one. Once styrene starts to go on i'll do another update.

City Fight 2 - Concept Work Continued

2012-02-09T20:40:00.002Z

I'm not doing Cityfight.

I just wanted to make that clear before I got into this second post with concept work for Cityfight (which i'm not doing, let's be absolutely clear about this).

After the comments on Part One I thought I would do a little more more on the concept and to help clarify the ideas.

To be absolutely clear these ARE NOT designs I am thinking of doing. Any finished designs would not look like this. They are not even WIP designs. These are purely shapes and quick sketches to show the basic principles I am thinking of (one day) doing.

Now that is out of the way...

First up the edging (and the roof lining/edging would also follow the same principle). Basically the edging would not be a continuous strip, it would be a small length (25-30mm long) printed then cast. This allows the building to be of a range of heights.

The edging pieces will be styled, though I will not be going down the GW route. So there will not be hundreds of skulls or random bits of machinery stuck on etc. The pieces would be embossed, engraved, shaped etc which suit being printed far more than being scratchbuilt.

I know they look ugly.
They are just here to help explain why I will be printing them.

The edging pieces lined up in situ.

Just a random detail shot of the wing. Just because.

In the one picture above you can see the corner pieces. These will not be plain pieces but designs something like (something like, not identical to) the model below. The general idea is fine, but the final piece would probably have wings of somekind either side of the eagles head, underneath the head I was thinking something like a mounting point for a light to hang down on a chain and also a hole for guttering to run through up to the roof.

Again, it is just a sketch, not the actual design.

Models eye view on left.

And here is the concept (yes concept, not design. These are ugly, bulky, too big and a whole host of other things, they do however make it clear what the idea for the windows would be) of the window frames - the door frame would be similar.

Each frame is built out of smaller pieces with which will allow a range of window sizes to be done. A door would be similar in principle though the bottom would lead into steps.

In the pictures you can see the external and internal frames. The external frame would be larger and more decorative, the internal would be little more than a thin frame. What you can see in the section view is that the two frames do not meet. The gap is so that you can slot something in place...

I know it looks horrible.

And here you see what would be slotted into the frame, namely clear acylic broken up to look like broken windows.

And the last thing to show is one of the detail pieces I would look at doing, namely floor support/brackets. I butchered the roof corner piece shown above to come up with a quick model which would sit over the roof beams.

That is it for today, and probably a while as I really have too much on to get distracted.

Recalcitrant Daze - Ten Months and Still Going, Surprisingly.

2012-02-08T18:06:00.000Z

The eighth of the month has rolled around again, so once more I shall subject you to the ‘Recalcitrant Daze Monthly not-sure-why-I-do-these-posts-but-I-started-it-so-I-will-have-to-continue Post’*.

So yeah, RD hits Ten Months since its debut post. Not exactly a milestone on par with this years diamond jubilee but I’m still pretty pleased how it is plodding along.

The last month has seen two things dominate on RD – Looted Wagons and 3D modelling/printing.

The former was a pretty straight forward build ‘em and sell ‘em job but was enjoyable none the less. The gentlemen who bought the last two wagons has commissioned me to build three more Looted Wagons based on Leman Russ tanks. As such you will be seeing more Looted Wagons in the near future (in the next few days work will begin) which after saying recently that I won’t be doing any more for some time proves just how little I can be trusted when the prospect of some money is laid in front of me…

…however the money brought in by the Looted Wagons has funded the experiments into 3D printing, as such one mustn’t grumble when given the chance to turn more of my 3D models into prints.

Unfortunately I have more ideas of what I can use 3D printing for than I could turn into projects. Possible terrain ideas alone include:

Gun Emplacement (though already started printing parts so no longer in the 'possible pile’).

Trench system – wall panels, straight floor & junction floor panels as a minimum.

Modular bunkers – to fit in with the defensive walls.
Bastions – again to fit with the design aesthetic of the defensive walls.
Cityfight – detail pieces for buildings such as doors/windows, steps, edging pieces.

I’m never going to get all that done. Least likely are new bastions (too costly) and cityfight (I haven’t the room for storing ruins). Shame as I am itching to work on those cityfight pieces some more.

To end I would like to thank the new followers, thanks very much. Thanks as always to those who have posted comments, it is always appreciated. I think that is enough for this post. I will be putting up another concept post regarding Cityfight, just to help clarify some of the ideas I have (though as mentioned I won’t actually be doing a cityfight project for a long time yet...). The next proper modelling update will be the initial work on the Looted Wagons as the final base kit arrived today.

Oh, actually there is one last thing. Now I have my own range of defensive walls I have a load of GW walls going spare. They shall be up on eBay this Sunday but if anyone wants to grab a set (or multiple sets) let me know ASAP. Each set has six single and six double walls. Say £15 per set including postage?

Rictus.

* I may need a snappier title.

City Fight 1 - Concept Work

2012-02-07T18:07:00.000Z

Right, i'm not starting a new project and while I would love to do some Cityfight ruins (I won't say Cities of Death, for it is a stupid name) but I just don't have any space for it.

However...my mind was wondering today and for some reason I got thinking about ruins and how I would do them better than my first go a few years back. While I am not doing any 3D modelling work on the defensive walls at the moment I was thinking about other aspects of terrain I could use 3D printing on and out of the blue I thought of ruins.

I have never been tempted to use the GW kits for ruins, I find them just too over the top.

I see the majority of Imperial building as being quite bleak, almost faceless and monolithic. It is for this reason I used Foarboard to make my first set of ruins, double layered to give me nice and thick walls (10mm, any less just makes the buildings look wimpy).

A few examples...

Obviously that is before any rubble and so on was added. The figure for scale is a Terminator. The ruins were quite large.

What lets them down in the detailing, While I did add things like window sills and some trimming it still left little to really grab the eye.

So today it hit me I could creat detailing pieces for any cityfight ruins I build. Casting them in plaster will be perfect for damage and so on as shown on the defensive walls.

So pieces which can be done include:
Edging pieces - corners and roof line.
Window frames - internal and external.
Signs.
Doorframes & doors.
Steps.
Buttresses - both flying and non-flying.

After a few minutes I had a quick and rough concept.

Keep in mind these are purely concept to test out the theory. The actual things I would design would be far more detailed and more fitting in with 40k - for example think Aquillas etc.

I only had time to look at edging pieces - so up the building corners and along the roof line. The roof line would either have a lip (as shown) or a groove to slot over the foamboard top, making the foamboard ends much neater.

Obviously the actual buildings would have things like doors, stairs and so on.

As a concept I think it is doable. I can also see things like floor supports, light fixings and other details are possible.

If only I had mroe time, and storage space...I am already going to look at 3D printing for doing a trench system and maybe bunkers, and that is once the gun emplacement is sorted.

What do people think?

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 6

2012-02-05T19:37:00.000Z

In the last post about the gun emplacement I mentioned I had ordered the prints for the last pieces of the Defensive Walls, namely the plinth pieces. I have also ordered a print of the mounting plates. With no chance of success I also did a model of some rebar and I have ordered prints of it in two materials to see if I can cast my own pieces..

Anyway, while the Six Nations has been on the TV I got busy casting wall pieces. I knocked up a second mould to speed things up.

After a bit of time I ended up with this lot: I mixed in a small amount of black paint so that if the pieces get chipped you won't see white (thanks to Jake for reminding me to do it).

All that casting did get a bit boring, so I took a few of the prototype casts and did a test paint scheme.

I carved a Chaos star into the one panel, it matches the stars I have carved into some vehicles. Using plaster makes doing things like this very easy.

They have started printing my new parts so I am hoping i'll have them in a weeks time and I can get one with casting the plinths, more walls and trying out the rebar. Casting up all the mounting plates will be a ball ache even with doing them in sets of four.

For reference here are the models for the mounting plates and rebar.

The actual model I am having printed is 100mm long

There is unlikely to be another update on the walls till the new prints arrive - as there isn't much I can do till then which will be worth showing.

Gun Emplacement Mk. II - 2

2012-02-04T23:59:00.000Z

As the models for the Defensive Walls were finished mid week my attention turned to the gun emplacement.

The main thing was to update the models in light of the mock up I did just after Christmas. The only change to the walls was to add 2mm to the height, the real work was to the base pieces.

The internal diameter of the base wedge (on the left) changed, this meant I had to rework the treadplate, rim and rivets. I decided to increase the size of the rim slightly (1mm to 1.5mm) and then deleting the rivets and doing new ones 0.75mm in diameter. To finish off the wedge I added the lip on the inside face which the gun plate will sit on.

The step (on the right) didn't change dimensionally, but as I had redone the rim and rivets sizes on the base wedge I had to redo the step as well.

The assembled pieces with the revised base wedge and step in place.

I then started looking at the gun plate itself. The plan is to either mount an Earthshaker on there (see the mock up pictures previously shown) or a FW Manticore or Hydra turret. In the centre of the plate is the locating hole for the FW turret locating peg.

The rim and rivets match the base wedge & step. The overall diameter is 77mm. At the moment the model is more of a concept, I do not know if I will have it printed or scratchbuild it. The benefit of printing will be accuracy while the negative will be the price as it is quite large. I may do it in two parts with the bottom 'disc' which will nto be detailed being scratchbuilt. I may look at doing the top plate in two halves as well to reduce printing costs.

As you can see the plate is pretty plain. I will be adding more detail on the top surface to make it look more interesting.

However you will not see much of the plate due to the size of the Earthshaker or FW turret which will be sitting on it.

The layout above shows the gun plate - the 77mm overall diameter with the inner line showing the rim (1.5mm offset from the outside edge). The dashed line - of diameter 67 - is the hole which the gun plate drops into (i.e. the hole shown in the first assembly picture in this post). The inner circle of 51mm diam is the FW turret. The other shape on there you have probably already worked out is the Earthshaker base. As you can see there really isn't much room to add any detail. My original idea was to have a hatch each side, but with only 8mm each side between the FW turret and the hole the plate drops into it is unlikely a hatch will work. However I will look at it, as well as other gubbins such as a system the crew would use to turn the platform. This would be swappably with something else if the gun plate was build for a FW turret.

So overall the gun emplacement has moved forward, though there is still some way to go. However...Thursday I ordered the prints for the final pieces for the Defensive Walls and at the same time I also ordered the walls for the emplacement...so in one form or another the gun emplacement will be happening...

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 5a

2012-01-31T21:10:00.000Z

Just a small update really, barely warrants an update in fact. I'm beginning to wonder if I update too often and whether people would prefer more spaced out update with more content rather than posting every couple of days (or sometimes every day). Should I post less...?

Anyway, in the last post I said I was going to order the Plinth piece this evening.

This hasn't happened. When I uploaded it is as pretty pricey as it is rather chunky, far more material than the original wall pieces. As such I deciced to have another play today with the model to bring down the price.

I initially built a recess into the bottom of the plinth to reduce the material and this brought the price down by about a third. But I decided that there was no reason why the plinth was the same length as the wall piece.

So the final design for the plinth is this...

It is 25mm long, so half the length of the wall piece. As such the printing cost is less than half that of the original plinth design.

I can't seem to stop playing around with designs though and after doing that piece I thought 'why can only the straight walls have plinths?'. Not too long after that I also had a corner plinth...

This will give me more set up possibilities - not only for having tanks behind better protection, not having any pesky missiles fly through the gap between tall walls but also will allow me to have two lines of defensive walls, with the second wall firing over the first wall.

It should look pretty good.

Tomorrow, for certain, I will be ordering the two plinth pieces. I will combine them into one file and thus cut down on setting up costs. I have also done a quick model of the mounting plate which I will get printed in a Fine Detail material, I will compare it to the scratchbuilt plate and see which looks best before choosing which one to cast up for the walls. It shouldn't take long for the prints to arrive so in a couple of weeks time I should have a big set all cast up...

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 5

2012-01-30T21:30:00.000Z

So I made a small mounting plate and did a couple of casts...

I have finalised the plinth as well. It is officially Option B Mk 4.

I changed the base slightly, changing width at the base and chaning the chamfer so it ran up to the main body. The only other change was to add the recesses and the shallow holes. These are for when I have some of the plinths set up as terrain or damaged where the upper wall piece isn't in place. The shallow holes will be drilled out, the holes are for the locking bars to be hammered into to secure the upper wall panel (that make sense?).

Basically the mounting plates will be fitted inside the recess as shown below...

I am going to go ahead with this option - the 3D print will be ordered tonight...

In the meantime I am going to crack on with casting some walls and adding the mounting plates - i'll be doing a second mould of each to speed things up (though I am waiting for some rubber to arrive before doing the mould for the wall pieces).

Hopefully the 3D print won't take long to arrive again.

CRM Veterans 2

2012-01-29T17:06:00.000Z

Had a chance to look at the Backpack I had printed.

Now I think the basic design looks pretty decent, however the print resolution is just not good enough for these. While I could probably improve it with some fine wet and dry sandpaper there are some areas which I just will not be able to get to (the ends of the lower canister are recessed) and I will probably end up losing some details.

As the print is hard to see due to the material I gave it a quick coat of spray. I manipulate the pictures slightly to show the surface texture better - keep in mind though that some of the roughness in the pic looks worse because of this.

I glued it to the back of a Cadian torso to see how it looked in position. Size wise it looks fine and the fit seems decent. I may change the mounting plate which is in contact with the torso so it is a bit taller and has mnore contact with the torso.

KEEP IN MIND that the torso is not finished and I am not going to use the pipe shown. The pipe just looks too thick and it is impossible to position so it looks right. Much better than guitar wire but still not user friendly. Going to have to use something else instead.

Above is a comparison shot with a FW militia torso who form the bulk of my infantry force.

There is an opportunity of me being able to get the backpack printed at a higher resolution, I am going to do a couple of refinements to the backpack and then cross my fingers that I can get a better print done.

In the meantime I will use this print as a prototype to play around with different pipe options.

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 4

2012-01-27T22:27:00.000Z

After spending more time playing around with the concepts taking into account the dimensions of the Leman Russ I have some more pictures...

Once I had the dimensions to the hull and turret weapons it became obvious that Option A was a non-starter as the plinth would only be 15mm tall, no where near enough height to get a firing port in to allow infantry to fire through. This was a shame as Option A was my favourite of the three and the initial idea I had when thinking of doing a plinth to raise the walls up to protect tanks.

So my attention turned to Options B & C.

Option B Mk 2:

Option B - I've gone off this concept. The height of the plinth meant I needed two steps and i've ended up with a step too narrow for a figure on a base to stand on. The plinth itself just looks naff, far too big and chunky, not what I was after at all. I could modify the steps so the lower one is narrow and the top one is big enough for a base but that will just make the piece even more chunky and horrible.

Option C Mk. 2:

Option C has changed slightly, namely the height so the wall will sit under a Russ turret weapon. The firing slot is sized so that infantry standing on the firing step can fire through as well as the Russ hull and sponson weapons.

I prefer this to the Mk. 1 version. It looks more balance being shorter, i'd prefer the firing window to be smaller but it can't unless it isn't used for infantry or the Russ hull weapon (neither I would be happy with losing). I could raise the firing step but I don't want to make the bottom too thick as I don't want to end up with a base like that on Option B Mk 2 above. Still some room for tweaking, but in general I like this more than Option B Mk 2 and Option C Mk 1.

Option D Mk 1:

Option D is a development of Option B. Basically the main thing I disliked about Option B was the firing step so I thought about doing an alternative which could have a firing step but avoid the big block that Option B Mk 2 turned out to be.

The design principle of the defensive walls in general was 'low-tech'. Basically simple designs made from cheap, readily available materials, reinforced concrete which could for example be cast on site.

Sticking with this principle I had the idea of having a removeable firing step, only the plinth itself would be a concrete cast but would incorporate a groove which a firing step if required could be slot into. Using wooden planks as the firing step and either cast blocks or bricks (or something else) as a support.

The assembly setup below shows much better what I mean:

What I would do is assemble the steps with the supports all in place, during set up of a game I would then have the option of having the step or not depending on my deployment needs and the space availble. This solution cuts down hugely on both the 3D printing costs and the casting and makes set up more flexible.

Walls, Chimeras & Gun Turrets...

I also got out tonight a Chimera and a gun turret to see how they work with the walls.

Chimera - With a regular wall unsurprising the Chimera is too big to get protection. Adding 15mm to the height gives the wall enough to protect the tank, the turret can happily fire over. As such i'm happy that the walls I go with will work as well for the Chimera as it does for a Russ.

Gun Turrets - With the additional 15mm height the turret weapon sort of sees over the wall, ideally it would be better if the wall was 1-2mm shorter. However the normal wall covers enough of the gun turret for it to claim it is in cover.

The picture below shows how much of the gun turret would be covered by the walls.

I am planning on removing the mounting plate detail on top of the wall pieces. It just doesn't come out detailed enough on the 3D prints or the casts. So the plan will probably be to make a new master which I will then cast in resin and then attach to the walls. I will probably scratch build one initially but depending how it turns out I may get it 3D printed in a more higher spec material.

I was thinking of removing the plates and doing new moulds this weekend but I'm running short on rubber, as such it'll have to wait till some more turns up.

As before let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 3

2012-01-27T00:38:00.000Z

Bit of a mini post this evening, well technically morning as it just went past midnight.

I mentioned in the comments to the previous post I had an alternative concept for the plinth pieces to raise the height of the walls for tanks to shelter, so today I knocked up a quick model to show the different alternatives.

Option A - The version previously seen, but developed a bit more.
Option B - The alternative I was thinking about, basically a lower plinth incorporating a firing step - so infantry still fire over the wall rather than through it.
Option C - The alternative, alternative. Basically a normal wall but taller and including a firing port. However this would mean doing a two part mould - or doing the wall in two parts. Not my favourite option (as it is also the most expensive).
Options B & C still need developing, for example the base of Option C needs to be wider - at the moment it is the same width as the normal wall.

Option A in place.

Option B in place.

Ditto for Option C

Now, the bit that will allow me to develop the ideas and make the final decision, namely what dimensions suit a Leman Russ. This is a bugger due to the weapon layout.

A Russ set up with the current 'standard' wall looks like this, as you can see it is far too small for the tank to get any protection from it.

But adding only 15mm to the height means the lascannon just sees over the wall and the heavy bolters are knackered.

Now I have this in my head I can go back and develop the ideas more, I need to decide if I want just the turret to be able to fire over or if the turret and hull weapon are what should be done, or finally if I want the sponsons to be able to fire as well.

I may have to do a new design from scratch, incorporating some of the design elements in Options A. B & C to get the final wall piece. Possibly a firing slit which the hull & sponsons can fire through and a firing step to allow infantry to use it as well.

There may be a post tomorrow with more design ideas.

Any suggestions or ideas are always welcome and appreciated.

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing 2

2012-01-26T00:14:00.000Z

I've been playing around a bit more.

In the last post I mentioned rebar (i think, or I did in the comments, I can't remember now) and I spent quite a lot of time online last night trying to find someone who makes scale model rebar.

No one does.

Except in Japan.

This is annoying.

After that disapointment I spent far too much time trying to make rebar. This was not fun. In the end I got something together good enough to at least try casting it into a wall piece to see how things go. This evening I had another go at making rebar, which actually was better and didn't give me a headache in the process.

Rebar Attempt One:

The rebar wasn't great, but cast in it doesn't look bad.
I like the look of the damage.

Rebar Attempt Two:

Ironically while the rebar looked better I don't think the damage works as
well. I also think the rebar shifted in the mould so wasn't central.

After sometime casting (mainly spent waiting around, I will have to do two moulds of each piece when I start properly cranking these out) I had enough for a small setup.

Militiaman Barry for scale.

I have also been thinking about what to do with vehicles, in the sense that these walls are too low for a vehicle to have any protection. So below is the quick concept sketch I knocked up this afternoon. Basically where vehicles are going to be set up in a defensive line lower blocks (or plinths) are first fitted in place before the regular wall piece is lowered onto them. A cutout in the plinth allows troops to shelter behind it and still fire at the enemy.

The concept still needs more work but in principle I think I'll be going with it.

Defensive Walls & 3D Printing

2012-01-23T23:48:00.000Z

Time for an update on the defensive walls I had 3D printed - for a recap of how this started have a look at this post.

If you don't have the time to read that the models I had printed looked like this...

Corner piece on the left and straight section on the right
(which is pretty obvious so i'm not sure why I am telling you)

So the 3D prints arrived, turned out to be a quicker turn around than I expected.

I went with two different materials to see what the difference was.

The 3D Prints:

The straight section used the bog standard, run of the mill cheapest material ('White, Strong & Flexible') while for the corner piece I went with a more expensive material (Alumide) though the difference between the costs wasn't huge, but if you were doing many prints or large pieces the cost would be noticeable so it was worth investigating both materials.

There isn't a huge difference between the two pieces. The surface texture seems to be the same on both, there is no noticeable difference. However the more expensive material does have sharper detail especially on the top. The detail on the straight section is definately less defined, the straight section also has slight 'sagging' along the top face. I think as the material has cooled it fell slightly (like a cake?), it is very, very minor, maybe a .25mm and probably wouldn't be noticed if you weren't giving the pieces a good look over.

I gave the two pieces an undercoat, partly to make it easier to compare the pieces and also to help with the moulding process as the WSF isn't great for moulding due to being slightly porous, but with the undercoat I hoped this would be overcome.

Coat of Helfords grey prior to doing the moulds.

Playing with Rubber.

So some rubber was poured and after 24 hours I had a mould of the pieces and I set about making some casts.

I bought a big bag of plaster for the casting as it is a lot cheaper than resin. I was uncertain how it would deal with the detail however but at only about 15 quid for 5kg including postage it was worth investigating.

Cast One - Complete Balls Up - got the mix wrong (should of read the instructions better...)

Idiot.

Cast Two - Much better, but still not great. In hindsight I would of done the mould different as I did it with the mindframe of a resin cast.

Getting Better.

Cast Three - thought I would do a cast using resin as a comparison to the plaster versions. Detail is definately sharper. The detail on the top for example is more defined.

In hindsight I probably wouldn't of done the top detail as it is just a bit too fine for the materials used and for the casting, the plaster especially struggles with it.

Moving forward I will be doing some more casts in plaster to try different things out, such as different water/powder mixes.

I think I will order some more casts as well to try out more materials. Basically the money from the Looted Wagons I sold are being put into this with the aim of getting things right before doing anything bigger or more ambitious.

The surface texture issue is fine on these as they are meant to be concrete so the rough surface works. For other things, such as tank pieces or detail pieces I will need something better - hence needing more material experiments.

Expect an update sometime in the near future...

...btw, i've not done anything with the backpack yet so don't ask...

Looted Wagons 12

2012-01-22T13:34:00.000Z

Here is the final post on the Looted Wagons (because I don't know about you but i'm getting tired of seeing Looted Wagons...).

I got some better pictures of them this morning in (sort of) daylight.

Looted Wagon 1:

Looted Wagon 2:

For those who are interested they are both now on eBay.

Looted Wagons 11

2012-01-21T22:58:00.000Z

Right, I think the second one is now finished.

Since last time I have...

...added the track guards...
...done the rear access ramp...
...added fuel barrel and fuel line...
...added skorcha turret...
...added Big Shoota & drivers viewport...
...detailed the crap out of it including a shed load of rivets.

As usual if it was for me I would of done a bit more detailing and added a krewman - for this one I decided to just leave the krew up to whoever buys the wagon. The hatch is not glued in position (hence looking odd in some pics where it wasn't lying flat) so the buyer can either leave as is or stick an Ork or Grot in the hole.

To the pics...

Hopefully both Looted Chimeras will go on eBay tomorrow (I will post a link after I do for those who are interested), but I will get some better pics of both Wagons first.

Glad I've got those finished.

Looted Wagons 10

2012-01-17T23:31:00.000Z

Again I was tempted to wait till the second Looted Chimera was finished before posting anything, but then I thought balls to it.

So here it is so far.

The track units have been lengthened and the flotation tanks replaced with plating.

Once assembled with the Chimera floor and front piece I added the flooring in and started building the rear of the cabin area. Still need to do the internal sides and do a load of detailing.

Should of got a pic of the underside really. Three pictures isn't much of an update really. Wish I had waited now. Oh well.

In other news my 3D prints arrived yesterday. I shall wait untill the moulds and first cast is done before doing an update on them (hopefully sometime in the next few days).

Looted Wagons 9

2012-01-14T22:21:00.000Z

Right the first Looted Chimera is pretty much done. When the second one is to the same stage I will return and add a few last details.

The banna pole and hatch are not glued in place. Big Shootas need to be
drilled out.

Simple and straightforward reinforced ram.

The chain and spike arrangement to hold the door closed.
When the lads want out they just pull the spike out of the chain.

Like I said it isn't completely 100% finished but it is close enough to move onto the second Looted Chimera. I'll return to do the finishing details.

Likely things to be done later:
1. More dags/glyphs.
2. Stikkbomb Chukka
3. Possibly firing steps of some kind

Looted Wagons 8

2012-01-11T23:32:00.000Z

Well this first one was meant to of been finished Monday night. However I had no free time for it either Sunday or Monday and only a few hours since.

As such it'll be Friday probably before it is finished, but I thought I would do a quick update now.

Turret has had some more armour plates added (on the rear half), the Big Shootas are now magnetised - though the barrels need to be drilled out yet, and the Kommanda is done and magnetised. I had to rebuild his shoulder a bit and reposition his hand to get it to lie correctly.

Alas you may notice there is no hatch yet, I am waiting for a new circle cutter to arrive before doing it as my existing one died without hope of resurrection a week or so ago.

At the front the drivers viewport has been added (though may change slightly yet) and the front supports for the reinforced ram are in place including the GS welds.

Underneath the remaining gaps from the crappy build job have been covered up with some Orky GS welds.

The rear access ramp is in place but I need to add the lowering mechanism (something simple and straightforward). The original Chimera mechanism is no longer used, they are just therefor the hinge, Orky teknology has replaced the need for them.

And a quick pic with the turret in place.

Recalcitrant Daze – Nine Months and 100 Followers...

2012-01-08T19:48:00.000Z

You know I never really set out to do a monthly general post when I started the blog, I just sort of fell into it and now after doing one every month since I started I’m not sure I can stop.

Anyway, what has the last month of RD brought?

Well I finished the Plague Fleet for BFG. My first completed force in any game system. Ever. After doing this hobby for over 20 years it was looking like it may never happen.

The Lootin’ article went up on Bell of Lost Souls and the three subject vehicles have been sold via eBay.

Alas not much else hobby wise has occurred. Christmas break turned out to have little free time for cuttin’ n gluin’ though I did get a game of 40k in which was nice.

I do want to put out thanks to all those who are following Recalcitrant Daze. In the week I hit 100 followers, I never expected to hit that many after only nine months. In no small part is this due to Ron and FTW for his excellent Blog Roll which got things really started for RD, joining the BoLS network and them letting me do articles for them also gave RD a huge boost in people visiting. Likewise my blog popping up on Dave Taylors blog roll also had a huge impact on the number dropping by. So thanks to all of them for giving me such welcome boosts.

A big thanks to those followers who have taken the time to contribute by posting comments. Getting feedback is always a good motivation to keep going on a project and the suggestions and ideas people suggest are always taken on board.

That’s the pleasantries taken care of I can move onto what is coming up in the next month.

More Looted Wagons (as seen in the previous post) – at this rate people will be avoiding RD as every post seems to be about Looted Wagons of late. I promise these will (almost certainly) be the last Looted Wagons for a while. It should also be a quick project to get through so bear with me.

The 3D models for the defensive wall pieces and Vet backpacks have been sent to Shapeways and they have started production. The pieces should be with me in a week or two. As such I will be able to try out producing some moulds and casting some pieces shortly.

Painting. I am going to paint something. Or at least paint a bit of something. Namely the Deffstrike. After making progress with the Rokkit I want to get on with the Launch vehicle and the Grot Krew.

More painting. Namely the Hell Blades, i've done nothing to them since the last update. This needs to be remedied.

MWC – After being asked to write some articles for them my Intro piece went up yesterday.. My first proper article will not be far behind (nothing big, just a simple one to ease everyone in…).

That is all I am going to commit to at the moment as these lists never stand up for long. Hell I have usually changed my mind by the time I finish writing them.

On another nore I am considering this as the next tattoo.

...ah, childhood memories.

Looted Wagons 7

2012-01-08T00:03:00.000Z

I was originally going to wait till each Wagon was finished before showing anything of them, but then I thought 'sod it'. Here are the WIP pictures.

The first Looted Chimera is about 50% done. Not started on the reinforced ram or the sides yet, plus I need to finish off the rear (firing steps & rear ramp) and the turret (magnetise Big Shootas, banner, krew & cupola) plus the drivers viewport.

This was a badly built Chimera picked up off eBay,
I decided to cover up the gaps with some Orky repair work.

I doubt I will get it finished tomorrow as I have too much on, but I think I am on track to get this first one finished by Monday night.

Looted Wagons 6

2012-01-05T23:48:00.000Z

Been a bit quiet last few days due to 'real life'.

So this is a rather short post as I haven't actually done anything...

The three Looted Wagons have been posted to the buyers and I have decided to knock out a couple more. The reason being is that I have two which were going to become Scrapp Trukks. However they just don't work. Instead i'm going to pick up a couple of Ork trukks to convert.

As such I have a couple of Chimeras going spare. So looting time.

The one on the right is the one I started to cut up to turn into a Scrapp Trukk.

After the last three Wagons being all Boomgun trukks these two will be open topped for carrying boyz around in. That is about all I have planned for them, with these two i'll just make it up as I go along.

I'm wondering how quick I can knock the two of them out so I may concentrate on these two for now rather than jumping from project to project like normal.

So keep your eyes open, hopefully these will be a finished before you know it.

Ork Dread Mob 8

2011-12-30T23:48:00.000Z

Done a bit more on the Killa Kans today. I have decided to go ahead and make a couple of other weapons rather than wait till I can get hold of a couple more Grotzookas.

The front piece has been added to all the Kans, I made some modifications to them so no two are identical.

So we have the Krumpin' Mob of two Grotzookas and a Skorcha.

Then there is the Shooty Mob of two Rokkit Launchas and a Kustum Mega-Blasta:

The KM-B is pretty standard but as before I modified the Rokkit Launcha to have three rokkits.

I made a couple of small mods to a couple of Kans.

First up to stop the one close combat arm dropping down I added a small piece of brass rod to the arm, then drilled an oversized hole in the socket. The magnet now holds the arm to the body while the rod keeps the arm in a raised position.

The other mod was giving the raised foot some tread...

Next up is to do the engine blocks, I've got my fingers crossed I get them done in the next few days.

Gun Emplacement Mk. II - 1

2011-12-29T00:28:00.000Z

Recently I did a post which covered the start of what could be me getting some pieces 3D printed. The post, here, included some 3D models of a new gun emplacement. The design was based on my previous gun emplacement which I made out of foamboard.

How the gun emplacement will look when the pieces
are assembled (or at least that is the hope).

Today I managed to do a mock up in finn and foamboard to allow me to sort out the dimensions of everything. I'd picked up a (badly) built Bassie off eBay before Christmas so I ripped the Earthshaker off and cut/sanded the gun base plate down which allowed me to determine the size I would need to make the centre of the emplacement.

The central hole in the base is 70mm, around this the base pieces (each one being 30 degrees of the whole) are 32.5mm, so the overall diameter of the base is 135mm. The walls are planned to be 15mm thick, so 165mm diameter in total - smaller than the Mark I version I built (which was too big).

Above is the base mockup (the blue area in the assembly).
The cast base pieces have a lip which the central gun platform will sit on.

The walls will be 22mm higher than the base, giving cover as
shown in the pic for the troops set up behind them.

The gun platform is 75mm in diameter - this means it will sit over the base pieces by 2.5mm, underneath is a 70mm disc to sit into the central base hole. The depth of this disc is 1mm larger than the depth of the hole to the lip (did all that make sense?). Note the central hole in the gun platform, this is 13mm in diameter and will allow a FW Hydra or Manticure turret to be dropped in place. I've not decided yet if I will model/print or if I will scratch build it before I cast it.

The gun platform in place, top right showing the underneath,
bottom right shows the overhang and clearance.

Originally I was worried about having the gun platform higher than the walkway area as the crew would struggle to load the gun, but mounting the gun offset towards the front actually gives enough room at the rear for a crewman to stand while loading the gun.

The gun in position and one of the crewman behind it. On the right
you can see that the gun just clears the wall when in its horizontal position.

After doing the mockup I am pretty confident with the dimensions I can use. There is just enough room to get a ten man squad in the emplacement and still get the crew in. Though I am more likely to put special weapon or command squads in there.

Tight fit but they can squeeze in there.

Recalcitrant Daze - Stuff

2011-12-27T23:08:00.000Z

Well the last week has proven somewhat barren model wise. I was hoping to work on the War Altar or Weirdboy Battle Tower but alas that hasn't happened at all.

However I thought I would mention a few things...

1. Part three of the Lootin' Article went up on Bell of Lost Souls yesterday. So have a look and post up any feedback if you can as it is always appreciated.

2. I was invited by Miniature Wargame Conversions a while ago to do some articles, but at the time I was working on the Lootin' articles for BoLS so couldn't do anything. However now that is complete I can look to do something else for MWC. But i've got nothing lined up for it yet, so if anyone can think of something they would like to see me do an article on please let me know and if it is possible and I'll look to do it.

3. Erm, there was a third thing. But I was distracted while writing this post and now I can't remember it.

4. What time I have left over the Xmas break I intend to do the following (but won't in all likelihood, if I get some of it done i'll be happy enough):

Get the Veteran torsos sorted (something my CRM have needed sorted out for some time).
Finish building the Killa Kans.
Finish painting the Hell Blades.
Do the MWC article.
Determine the sizes of the Earthshaker Emplacement
Plan next tattoo (ok, not really model related but I'm thinking something Orky)

You may think item four should be the third item but no, there was definately a seperate third item I had mapped out which has now escaped me. I shall leave No. 3 as above and edit in when (or if) I remember.

Oh, in other news I actually had a game of 40k today. I lost, but i'm not too disappointed by it as my mate finally won a game with his Dark Eldar...frankly his run of loses with them was getting a bit embaressing for both of us...

As I don't like doing posts without pictures...

CRM Veterans 1

2011-12-25T23:23:00.000Z

The Kromlech torsos arrived last week so I have started to have a look at how they will go with Cadian legs and arms.

As a reminder the torsos look like this...NB: the backpacks are seperate.

I had to remove the bottom plate at the front for them to fit on the Cadian legs.

I'm not completely sold on them at the moment. Something about them just don't look right to me. Here is what they look like:

And with some pouches and arms in place.

I can't put my finger on why i'm not 100% happy with them. The plan is to try out some more arm combinations before deciding if I use them or not.

As a reminder the backpacks I hope to use will be these...

Any thoughts? Do the torsos work and if not why not?

Recalcitrant Daze - Ork eBay auctions are up

2011-12-25T18:35:00.000Z

Good day to one and all.

Just a quick post to say the eBay auctions for the Looted Wagons, Ork Bikerz, Ork Nobz & Black Reach Warboss and Nobz are now up.

LINKY LINK

Oh, Happy Christmas, whatever...

Recalcitrant Daze - Ork Clearout on eBay

2011-12-23T15:27:00.000Z

Basically as well as the Looted Wagons I am sticking a few other Ork bits on eBay this sunday (i.e. Christmas Day).

I am putting this post up now in case anyway wants to grab them before they go up as auctions.

So the items going on eBay will be...

The Looted Wagons

Unbuilt, still on sprue Ork Bikers:

Black Reach Warboss & Nobz:

Unbuilt, still on sprue Nobz:

Two five man squads and Boss Zagstruk. Bases have brass rod added for the boyz which have already been assembled and undercoated black, washers have been used to give the bases a bit more weight. Only one of the boyz has been assembled as a Nob. The jump packs and bases have been painted (though one base will need repairing). To reduce weight plastic parts have been used on Bozz Zagstrukk - both arms are plastic though his metal Choppa has been used.

If you are interested in these please drop me an email at rictusrd-blog at yahoo . co . uk

Recalcitrant Daze – Bell of Lost Souls, Tattoos and IA 11

2011-12-19T20:22:00.000Z

Another one of those non-model posts, more general ramblings. I did do some painting today I put forward in my own defense, however it was a window sill not not really worth a picture.

Bell of Lost Souls

First up the second part of my article about Looting has gone up on BoLS. It went up a bit under the radar I think, anyway if you want a read it can be found HERE.

You might remember the plan was to list the three Looted Wagons covered by the articles on eBay this Sunday just past, however it dawned on me that would mean the auctions would finish on Christmas day. To be honest I can’t be bothered with the hassle dealing with them ending on Xmas day. So the Wagons will go up the first Sunday after Christmas I think.

Tattoos & IA 11

Everyone knows most Xmas presents you get are little more than stuff that takes up much needed space. So to guarantee getting something for Xmas I actually want I always buy something for myself, this year this was the following...

My Chaos Stars Tattoo. I love my tattoos.
Even the naff looking two I had done 10+ years ago.

Imperial Armour Eleven. Look at all those Titans.

Over Christmas I intend on deciding what tattoo will go on the back of my left arm and read IA11.

I must admit when the current Eldar Codex came out I was very tempted to do a Corsair force, full of walkers, jetbikes, vypers with Rangers, Harlies and verious other fluffy units. FW doing a Corsair list is relighting that temptation...however I will not give in.

Hell Blades of Nurgle

2011-12-18T22:34:00.000Z

A bit more work has been done, mainly to the one Hell Blade.

It is still very rough and a lot is to be done still but i'm bored so I thought i'd do an update anyway. To highlight just how PIP this is I haven't even cleaned up around the vents after painting them black. Washes to be finished off, cleaning up to be done, migs, oils and so on still to do (of and the cockpit, pilot etc).

Should of got pictures during daylight really as these aren't great.

One last picture, somewhat appropriately a small fly (plague carrier no doubt) sacrificed itself in the paint. I have taken this as a sign from Papa Nurgle as his approval and blessing for the scheme.

Recalcitrant Daze – 3D Modelling/Printing – The beginning of the adventure...?

2011-12-17T23:26:00.002Z

Due to a lack of material to go into a proper update (i’ve just not been in the mood, though I have done a little more on the Hell Blades) I thought I would put up something I have been working on which doesn’t use a knife or a brush.

Recently I did a post about a Gun Emplacement I built some time ago and it really planted a seed to do another one, but better. I also wanted to be able to cast it.

The original emplacement.

My thought was to break the gun emplacement up into sections which could be much more easily cast up. However making a small piece of a curved wall, and sections of a circular base accurately so that when the cast pieces are assembled they all fit together would be troublesome to say the least.

So I turned to what I do as my ‘real’ job. After seeing some time in the past an article on 3D printing I thought about seeing if I could use it to produce some masters to create a mould for casting the gun emplacement.

I started producing the 3D models, these are a wall piece, right & left wall ends, a base piece and a step. (NB: Forgot to get a render of the step...)

Treadplate...Bitch to do.

In the top plates I will add lifting eyes to the cast pieces.

When assembled they look like this:

The central hole would be able to accommodate a number of possibilities, such as an Earthshaker, Hydra turret, Manticore turret and so on.

The dimensions are not yet finalised as I need the Bassie I ordered off eBay to arrive first.

I did go ahead and price up how much it would cost to get all those pieces 3D printed and it wasn’t cheap. Now if I knew 100% that it would work it wouldn’t be so bad a price, but until I am confident I don’t want to fork out the initial outlay for the emplacement prints.

So, the plan is to get something else printed first.

The idea is some defensive wall pieces – a straight wall and a corner piece. Only two pieces so the cost of getting them printed is a lot less but they would prove if the process is doable or not.

That was mk. 1; I later changed the lower detail to something which looked better. I also made the corner piece slightly shorter, to both cut down on the cost slightly but mainly to as it would be better when assembling a wall (NB: I didn’t get a render of the revised corner piece).

Assembled up the straight and corner pieces allow you to make something like this:

At that point I was ready to order some prints.

...but then had another idea.

This idea was for something smaller and more detailed. My CRM need some Vets in carapace armour. My plan was to get some Kromlech torsos (THESE) and then add a rebreather unit to the back, combined with some heads Maelstrom (from The Rising Sign) did for me I could end up with a unique looking unit which still fits in with the rest of my force.

So, the end result is this...

Unfortunately at this point everything goes on hold. I am waiting for the Kromlech torsos to arrive so I can modify the 3D model to suit it better and due to Xmas I won’t be able to do this till the New Year...

So check back then to see what happens.

Looted Wagons 5

2011-12-12T18:37:00.000Z

And here we have the final Looted Wagon done for the BoLS article.

As you can see it is the most 'basic' of the three, keeping the hull mainly as a regular Russ bar some plating, new exhausts and the reinforced ram. The new turret brings the real Orky feel to the vehicle.

As with the others the weapons are removeable while other pieces have
been left unglued for ease of painting.

If in doubt, just ram it.

Hopefully the three looted wagons will be up on eBay next Sunday. However if anyone wants to make an offer before then for one (or more) of the looted wagons please make yourself known...

Battlefleet Gothic 18

2011-12-11T14:33:00.000Z

These updates are certainly going up repidly at the moment aren't they?

Only a quick post this time though, as promised I got a pic of the entire BFG Nurgle fleet.

I actually got quite a few pictures of the entire fleet, unfortunately they all turned out crap.

This is the best I was able to achieve so it'll have to do. I wouldn't normally bother putting it up but I did promise to get a fleet shot up this weekend...

And the final fleet roster now that all the ships are done:

Overall thoughts is that I rather enjoyed putting the fleet together. The fact 80% of them were second hand eBay buys which I rebuilt and repainted makes it even more satisfying. I can officially say this is the first army/force I have ever finished...now all I need is for Si to build some ships and I may get to play a game with the Nurgle fleet...

There will probably be one more BFG post on RD in the near future as I hope to knock out the transport ships over the Xmas break.

Hell Blades of Nurgle 3

2011-12-10T21:03:00.000Z

Painting has begun.

Very, very work in progress.

Must admit i'm not liking the stripes as much as I thought I would. Still need to do a lot including the flesh, adding lots of washes, adding rust to the engine and all that is after I paint a lot of other bits and bobs (including the cockpit of course).

Looted Wagons 4

2011-12-09T19:35:00.000Z

Here is the second of the Looted Wagons I did for the Bell of Lost Souls article (Part One now up here)

Like the first wagon the hull on this one was extensively rebuilt but this time the Boom Gun is in a turret and the secondary weapons are in sponsons.

Third one should be up in a couple of days.

Recalcitrant Daze – Eight Months In And I'm Surprisingly Painting.

2011-12-08T19:52:00.000Z

It seems doing a blog was the right decision. Now so much of my time isn’t being wasted I have time to do the things I like (convert models) and even things I don’t like (painting models).

Month Eight seems to of been a productive one; it has seen the Looted Wagons finished for the Bell of Lost Souls articles and the article itself written (it is in the queue to go on the site). My Hell Blades which has sat for some time waiting to be finished are now done and undercoated ready for painting to begin this coming weekend and the last of the BFG Nurgle fleet have been painted. While the Killa Kan mob are not finished yet I still think the month was overall a productive one.

Over the next couple of days I will post up pictures of the two remaining Looted Wagons, get the entire Nurgle fleet out for some pictures and followed by a PIP update on the Hell Blades.

Obviously I can’t just work on one project so as well as painting the Blades I’ll see if I can finish off the Kans.

This month we of course have Christmas. Due to having holiday left over I’ll have two weeks off from work and I have tentative plans at the moment to finish off a ‘big’ project – either the Weirdboy Battle Tower or the War Altar of Nurgle. I am undecided at the moment which one...

The Tower...

...or the Altar?

Looted Wagons 3

2011-12-07T23:56:00.000Z

Two posts in one night? Surely not...

As mentioned on RD I recently finished three Looted Wagons for an article for Bell of Lost Souls. The article is now done and has been submitted, the article (in three parts) will appear on the site in some time in the future but as I am looking to sell on the wagons ASAP I thought I would put some pictures of the finished Wagons now.

Rather than putting all three in one post I am going to do a post for each one.

First up Wagon No. 1.

Engine detail.

Removeable weapons & other details not glued in place for ease of painting.

As you can see I went for a 'Destroyer Tank Hunter' vibe for this one - much like an earlier Looted Wagon I did for myself.

Unlike my own Ork vehicles I built this (and the other two) with a style which will let it fit in with GW Ork vehicles. I used GW Ork weapons and glyphs as well as keeping the distressing of the panels to the minimum.

In the next two weeks the three wagons will go on eBay, unless someone makes an offer in the meantime for any of them. Looted Wagon No. 2 should be up tomorrow.

Battlefleet Gothic 17

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000Z

Well the Renegade Marine ships are done now, I think. I may go back and do more but I doubt it...they are in no way a piece of artwork but they are good enough.

Big guys:

And the two squadrons of little guys:

And the Renegade Marine fleet lined up:

At the weekend I will get the entire fleet out for some group shots, could do with finding something black to put them on really.

These aren't the last ships I have to do though, next up will be the transport ships I picked up as a job lot off ebay a while back:

They will have a pretty basic scheme though, nothing Nurgley, just plain old Imperial transports.

Battlefleet Gothic 16

2011-12-06T00:05:00.000Z

Well I am back from a weekend away and to the amazement of all I have spent my first evening back with brush in hand.

Before I left for the weekend I finished the building work on the BFG Renegade Marine ships.

I decided I just didn't like the one type of Escort ships, they just seemed to bulked up for an escort. So to reduce their mass a bit I snipped off the bits on the side...

Example of one of them before I started cutting:

I decided to try and get all the Marine ships painted at the same time, so here is the current state:

Still fair amount to do on them, basically just the base colours and the first Devlan Mud wash have been done.

Fingers crossed I might get them finished tomorrow...

Recalcitrant Daze - Random plea for help...

2011-11-30T23:31:00.000Z

Basically I may of given in to temptation in doing another project.

Recently I put up a post on the Earthshaker Emplacement I built sometime ago and since then I have been thinking of doing another, better, one. The plan is to build a master which can be broken down into components which I can cast.

Alas I have no Earthshaker bits. I should be able to get hold of one sometime soon but in the meantime if someone with an Earthshaker/Basilisk could provide me with a couple of dimensions it would be much appreciated...

Basically it is the two dimensions shown. I don't need the entire platform dimensions, just the dimensions of the gun mount.

I shall be indebted to anyone who can let me know...

Hell Blades of Nurgle 2

2011-11-30T14:36:00.000Z

The Hell Blades have progressed a bit more, I have added some styrene to the rear of the cockpit area so when the canopy is fitted there is no longer a gap. The one Blade has .75 added, the other had .5 added. Some GS blended them in.

The planes and canopies then got a coat of Halfords Grey Primer. This is a nice undercoat for resin and will also highlight any gaps or rough areas I might of missed.

The grey shows up the surface texture quite nicely I think.

I also decided I really didn't like the rock on one of the bases, basically it was too big and the shape loked odd. So I ripped off the surface and hacked away at the foam beneath before adding some filler and redoing the PVA/filler/tissue covering and adding the sand.

Original base on left.

Much prefer it to the original version.

Next up will be filling in any gaps that I spot after the grey coat and then a black undercoat. I may actully paint them then...

...though I haven't nailed down the colours I want them yet. Thinking a light white/off white as the base colour though.

And my sodding preview button still isn't working.

Hell Blades of Nurgle

2011-11-27T18:15:00.000Z

I decided to pluck for a project I have had half done for a while (one of far too many), namely my two Hell Blades.

I do love the Hell Blade, though it probably ties with the Thunderbolt and Marauder Destroyer as my favourite 40k Aircraft.

Before today these two had most of the GS done as well as the bases all done. I returned to them today to do more GS, adding the sugar/superglue (like on the War Altar of Nurgle - another project I need to finish) and to use the Dremel to add more texture to the bodywork.

I will probably do a bit of tidying up here and there but otherwise the build is done - though I do need to sort the cockpits, namely sorting out the gap I have when they are in place.

Anyway, onto some pictures...

Hell Blade No. 1

Hell Blade No. 2

And one quick shot of the bases without the 'Blades:

Recalcitrant Daze - Mini Update

2011-11-26T15:38:00.000Z

Mini as in small, not mini as in miniatures...

Well the article for Bell of Lost Souls is finally done. The writing of the article took far longer than looting the three tanks. After much editing it was still around 4500 words over three parts.

I don't know when they will be going up on the website but once they are up I will post some pictures of the tanks on here.

I can now get on with something else and I feel I need a quick break from all things Green, so there are two things I am going to work on next:

1. The Renegade Marine ships for BFG - they have been sitting on my desk almost ready for paint since not long after Games Day.

2. Something for my CRM - it seems a long, long time since I have done anything on them so I feel I should make an effort. I have a couple of ideas of what to work on, the first an attempt to finish something I started a while back and the second is something new.

So I am hoping normal service will resume on Recalcitrant Daze from now on, with updates going up regularly.

PS: Am I the only one who cannot preview posts? I click the button but the damn thing doesn't want to show me a preview anymore.

Ork Dread Mob 7

2011-11-19T22:34:00.000Z

The Killa Kans have progressed a bit further.

All six close combat weapons have been built (including distressing and re-riveting...). The first four ranged weapons are also done.

Grots With Attitude. The Mob so far.

Rokkit Kan.

I decided not to use the weapons mounted on arms, but instead mount the weapons direct to the body using the spare mounting joints from the Dreads.

So for the Rokkit Launcha I used the Dread rokkit launcha but added a third rokkit (more Dakka).

Skorcha Kan:

Pretty straightforward, just used the Dread Skorcha.

Grotzooka Kans:

I used the Kan Grotzookas but converted the second one as I can't have two identical weapons. For both of them I got rid of the scrapp in the hopper and replaced it with my own scrapp.

The remaining two are yet to get guns. I would prefer if they also have Grotzookas but it would mean either scratchbuilding two or buying two off a bits site...I will decide tomorrow...

All of the guns are removeable - the two using dread weapons just drop onto the peg while the two grotzookas are magnetised.

The close combat weapons are also removeable, the two I did first (see last post) are magnetised while the other four just didn't get glued at the wrist, so the weapons pop out if required.

Still to do:

Front feature.
Two guns.
Engines.

You know, my life would be a lot easier if I just built things out of the box.

Earthshaker Gun Emplacement

2011-11-15T20:18:00.000Z

Another catch up post this evening, this one dragged up from way back...well 2007/2008 anyway.

At the time I planned to have a whole artillery detachment with at least a single battery of emplaced Earthshakers along with a number of smaller pieces (plus trojans, sentinel powerlifters etc).

In the end I dropped it as being just a dream I would never get to fullfill (sigh...). As such the emplacement got trashed and the earthshaker (and it's sisters) got sold off.

Anyway, to the model.

The basic structure is foamboard. It was an absolute nightmare to cut due to everything being curved.

The circular recess cut into the top of the gun 'deck' is so that the gun itself could turn. The walls got a coat of filler which after sanding down received a coat of GW Roughcoat.

I took the Earthshaker base panel and after much cutting and sanding had just the base of the gun itself which was then glued centrally onto a disc of 1mm styrene (the picture below shows what I mean much clearer). A larger circle of treadplate was cut which would fit into the emplacement gun deck area, The central hole is smaller than the disc of styrene and rather than gluing the two together the disc was sandwhich between more styrene which was glued to the treadplate - thus allowing the disc of styene mounting the gun to turn in position.

A small crank handle was added, this is the means that the crew would rotate the gun.

The gun platform above was then glued into position.

Some bracing, with chaos star additions were added around the curved wall to make it look a bit more interesting.

At the rear more styrene was added around the base and onto the step. A chain fence was also added to stop the crew falling off the edge. The central span was removable to allow resupply to be more easily carried out.

The base was then textured with a muddy feel and more detailing added to the emplacement, such as the vox unit, some stores etc.

And finally we have the gun and crew in position. The crew are shown on bases but the plan was to eventually pin (or magnetise) them in place so that the bases could be removed but the crew themselves could be taken out of the emplacement as they were killed off.

Annoyingly I don't appear to have a picture from the front...

Overall I liked the final result, though gaming wise I am not sure how practical they would of been using a full battery of them - though having all that room to deploy infantry behind the curved wall in front of the gun would of been handy.

Ork Dread Mob 6

2011-11-12T23:55:00.000Z

Well as the three Looted Wagons are finally (finally) done my attention has returned to the Killa Kans I started previously.

So the Kans now have legs and feet and are glued to their bases.

The guy top left will need some detail doing to the bottom of his left foot.

Also started working on the arms, the first two close combat arms are done.

Didn't want them to look identical - plus I used the other drill bit piece on one of the Dreads. The chainblade piece is a Kromlech part from Maxmini.

Will get some more done tomorrow, though I have another gig so it probably won't be enough to be worth an update.

IPMS Scale Model Show

2011-11-12T14:38:00.000Z

As mentioned in the previous update this weekend is the IPMS Scale Model Show in Telford, seeing as I am in Telford it seemed sensible to go along for a look.

Unsurprising the show is really directed to scale modelling, something I'm not too interested if I am honest. But the materials, tools etc are just as useful for what I do do so there is plenty of things to have a look at. The models on show can also spark plenty of ideas for my own projects so I tend to take quite a few pictures.

Unfortunately the timing of my visit wasn't great, basically I couldn't get to see the competition entrants they had. It is usually full of some very nice modelling projects and very good paintjobs so it was a shame I couldn't get in, but I really didn't fancy hanging around for three more hours before the judging to finish.

So anyway, a selection of pictures I did grab:

Nice little diorama, good inspiration for when I eventually
give in and do that trench gaming board...

Nice kit from a company from Hungary

Always liked tank transporters but never done one...
...now kinda tempted to do an Orky one...

Unfotunately no wacky camo patterns I could use for the Orks.

Forge World were in attendance but I didn't see anything new on show which was a shame. It seemed this year it was just a sales stand, rather than on previous years when they have someone (such as Mark Bedford) painting their models and answering questions/doing demos etc.

The only question I asked was regarding IA11. The are expecting the books to come back from the printers mid December, they hope that it will go on pre-order beginning of December but it may be beginning of January. They couldn't be any more certain than that.

Anyway a few pics from them...

Happily I got away without buying any resin, for the first time ever I think.

Also at the show...

The Jag from whichever Bond film it was on.

And a Spitfire, naturally.

I did pick up a few things, in addition to some brass rod, styrene strip and some drill bits I picked up these:

Some weathering stuff i've not seen before so
thought i'd give it a go, they also do a spray version.

Another cutting tool for styene etc. Thought it was cheap enough (ten quid) to give it a go.
The fact you have more control for cutting angles could be a real boon.

Ok, I don't know why I bought these.
They looked cute so I bought them.
I don't know what I will do with them.

And that is that. Decent couple of hours.

Recalcitrant Daze – Seven Months and Still Alive, Da Plan, Blogs to Visit.

2011-11-08T20:20:00.000Z

Has seven months really gone by since Post One?

Well last month was almost a wash out when it came to modelling. Thankfully my kitchen building duties are now complete and the three Wagons I am building for the BoLS article are very nearly finished (sneak peek below) so I should be back to doing regular updates on RD very soon.

So I hope (that’s hope, I’m not making promises) to do the following in the coming month (in no particular order):

Write BoLS Lootin’ article and then get the Looted Wagons up on eBay.

Sneak Peek of Wagons 1, 2 and 3

Finish Building the Killa Kans.
Undercoat the Deffstrike Launcha and start the painting of it.
Do something that isn’t to do with Orks, just for a change, probably Chaos related

IPMS Scale Model Show

Next weekend is the IPMS Model Show which I will be going along to as normal. Forge World are in attendance and hopefully showing off something we haven’t seen before. Either way I expect to do at least one post on the event next weekend. It does feel weird not to of put in an order from them though, feels kinda wrong.

Blog Spotlight

To finish I thought I would do a quick shout out to some blogs I regularly visit which have either only recently been started or I have only recently discovered. I posted up some links previously when the Stylish Blogger Award were doing the rounds but I thought it about time I do some more

Forlorn Hope – From the man known as Sheep. For someone with hooves I grudgingly accept he ain’t half bad.

Small-scale Ramblings - The Hoff, another modeller from ‘down under’ and almost certainly someone you have seen on one forum or another over the years.

Legion of Plastic - Migsula. Anyone who has ever visited the Dakka modelling area will have come across his work before and the awesome Inq28 figures he produces.

Warpaint – Warpaintguy. Nice place to see some Orks in a lovely yellow.

Mordian 7th Regiment – Mordian7th. Guard, Admech and a bit of Thousand Sons.

Oinks Overambitious Terrain Project(s) – Oink. Not as much terrain as you would expect from the name…plenty of nice tanks though so I’m not going to complain.

Elotsip's Warhammer Blog – Elotsip. With it heavily leaned towards chaos and orks it is a place after my own heart.

Looted Wagon / Mekboy Junka

2011-11-02T23:56:00.000Z

As I've got nothing new to put up I thought it was a perfect time to do another 'catch up post'.

This time it is another Ork vehicle I did for someone else.

The tank can be used in two ways, the first as a Looted Wagon with a Boomgun, but by swapping out the main weapon (it just slots in place), changing the turret (magnetised) and adding the optional Deffrolla (again magnetised) it can also be used as a Mekbuy Junka.

First off the Looted Wagon:

Really don't like the front exhausts on this side...

And with changing a few pieces we have the Mekboy Junka:

Close up of the Junka turret.

Zzap Cannon, quite happy how it came out

Recalcitrant Daze - Unusually Quiet Recently

2011-10-28T21:51:00.000+01:00

Things have been a bit quiet when it comes to getting updates up, this is down to a few reasons which I will now lay out in front of you…

I have been busy helping to put in a new kitchen so any modelling time has come down to just an hour or two each day.
I am working on a few Looted Wagons for an article for Bell of Lost Souls, which unfortunately means they won’t show up on RD till after the article goes up and there is a couple of weeks work at least before then.

Sneak look at the first Looted Wagon.

I have been reading the last part of the ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ series by Steven Erikson …which I finally finished this evening…

That was a lot of pages to get through. After all these years following the series I feel a bit lost...

...but these turned up today so I’ve got something to read:

I should have some time free soon to get some work done on the Kans. The bases have been done and as I have already built the legs I should be able to get the bits done so far all assembled in an evening:

And on another note...

As I mentioned earlier I am working on another article for Bell of Lost Souls, however I did put together an article about building Da Choppa - you can have a read of it here.

Ork Dread Mob 5

2011-10-18T23:10:00.000+01:00

I was away over the weekend so unsurprisingly no work was done on anything.

But this evening I put the legs together for the Kans, roughed up the plastic and replaced 90% of the rivets. Removed some odd looking spikes and a few plates got added. Not much really but it is time consuming.

The legs and feet are just blu-tac'd together. The next job (already started) will be to do the bases so I can then glue the legs and feet together in the pose I want. Once they are done I can crack on with the engine blocks then the arms.

Ork Dread Mob 4

2011-10-13T00:06:00.000+01:00

Well as expected the 'plan' didn't hold up well.

Started building some Killa Kans...

As with the Dreads the Kans need to be modified to fit in with my converted tanks, as such they take a lot longer than simply out of the box. Need to distress all the plates, replace rivets and make them more individual.

Quite a lot left to do obviously, will probably tackle the legs and feet next.

Defstrike Rokkit Launcha 3

2011-10-09T22:59:00.000+01:00

The Rokkit is almost done. Still need to do a few details, especially on the Grot and his controls. I won't be adding much in the way of rust or oils as unlike the tanks the rokkit won't have been knocking around for long, it is afterall built to just blow up as soon as possible (preferably after it has been launched).

The exhaust and the direction thrusters will get some oils to darken them as I am sure the Meks would of done some test firings, just for a laugh and to cook some squig.

Recalcitrant Daze - Six Months and Counting...

2011-10-09T14:23:00.000+01:00

Six months gone; how time seems to pass us by.

The past month was something of a mixed bag, perfectly summed up by Games Day UK.

Games Day had a few good points but many bad ones as well. As I said in the post here I doubt I will be going next year.

On the good side the deadline of Games Day meant I got Da Choppa finished. Combined with making a start on the Deffstrike Rokkit Launcha last month was a very productive one. On the other hand since Games Day I have done almost nothing due to illness. The BFG ships I picked up on the day have been started but instead of being all finished by this weekend as I expected I haven’t even finished building them, let alone got paint on them.

The article I was going to do for Bell of Lost Souls has remained on the drawing board only as well.

So the hope is next month the production level will rise...

Plan (which will with 100% certainty change a lot over the month to the point that it is almost worthless):

1. Finish Renegade Marine Ships for BFG.

2. Finish Rokkit & start working on the Launcha vehicle

3. Loot vehicle for Bell Of Lost Souls article

Unfortunately one weekend will be a wash out due to being away and I have also made commitments to help put a new kitchen in...as such model time will be limited...

Fingers crossed at least one thing on that plan gets done.

Battlefleet Gothic 15

2011-10-04T22:11:00.000+01:00

Not finished but the Renegade Marine ships I picked up at Games Day are on their way.

I want them to be a bit different to the other ships, but still fit in with them. So I am not going to add any superglue/sugar mix to them but I will do GS as on the other ships - but not limit it to the underside of the ships.

The two Strike Cruisers have had the Inquisitor 'I' shaped bridges removed and spare plastic ones added in their place.

Still some cleaning up to do (especially on the escorts) and more GS to add.

Deffstrike Rokkit Launcha 2

2011-10-02T13:14:00.000+01:00

The basic colours are now on the Rokkit. Decided I am going to do the Rokkit first then work on the Launcha, seems a bit less daunting that way.

Decided to add some more colour by doing the cockpit in red, also added some white for the cheques and some glyphs on the underside. Don't want to add too much to take away from the black/yellow scheme, but it needed something extra.

Ork Mekboy Junka 1

2011-09-29T18:32:00.000+01:00

Alas I have been ill most of the week and i've been unable to do anything other than take some pictures of Da Choppa (see last post).

Tonight will be another modelling wash out and tomorrow I will be out all evening, so to prevent the blog being too quiet I thought I would do another 'catch up/blast from the past' post. Plus it has been a while since I did one.

Now this conversion uses a Manticore as the base vehicle, I lengthened it a bit to give me the room I needed to go to town on it.

It was built for someone else, as such I did it in a different style to the Ork vehicles for my own force. Doing it in the 'GW' style - namely doing very limited distressing to the plate edges, means it will sit side by side with GW kits such as the trukk and battlewagon without a problem.

In the pictures the vehicle lacks crew as these were to be added by the owner himself.

A couple of Manticore missiles provide the turbo boost.

The KFF

Hatch ready for the Krew.

KFF from the rear.

The Deffrolla had to be widened to fit.

And the side arms modified to suit.

Breakdown of components - The Missiles were also
removeable for ease of painting.

Overall I was quite happy how it turned out. It was also a pretty quick build, not having to distress all the panels makes the whole thing go a lot quicker. The customer seemed pretty pleased with what he got so all round a good experience.

Da Choppa 12

2011-09-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

Some actual sunlight has meant I could get some new pictures of the tank. Hopefully these look a bit better than the last set.

And the 'Armoured Krumpany' thus far...

And to finish off a Datasheet I knocked up for Da Choppa...

Games Day UK 2011 - Part 3

2011-09-26T21:53:00.000+01:00

Part 3 – Overview and Thoughts on the Day.

I’ve been going to Games Day since 2006, so nowhere near as many as some but enough I think to have a balanced view on the this years event.

So after wondering around all day these are some of my thoughts – keep in mind I did not set out to do a ‘review’ of the day so I didn’t take notes as I went round or try everything available. These are my thoughts of regarding my experience at Games Day. Regrettably the overriding thought is disappointment.

Games Day is what it is, it does not try to be anything other than a push on Games Workshop product. In amongst this corporate shop front you can normally find some real gems, which in the past have always been enough to motivate me to go,

The only reason I pay £30 for a ticket is because I can get at least half that back by selling the GD mini on eBay, though the fact you no longer have a choice with this I find annoying. It seemed much fairer to have the option of a cheaper ticket without the mini. Not everyone will be in a position to use the mini or be able to sell it on.

Golden Demon – there didn’t seem to be a Golden Demon entrance this year, which meant doing an entry to get in early was pointless. As previously the Golden Demon cabinets were set up in a big block with the usual problem of simply getting to the cabinets to see anything on display. People pushing in with big backpacks does not make a great viewing experience. It would be so much better if they had something set up as suggested to me on the day by Schoolcormorant (from The Spring Offensive), namely a second row of barriers creating a corridor round the cabinets and letting people in at one end who then work their way round, no pushing in, good access to the cabinets etc. All I did was look at a few cabinets and then give up – better to wait for the pictures of the winners to show up on line than battle the horde of onlookers.

Design Studio – barely worth a look. Nothing new to see.

Sales Area – On the one hand I look back at last years FW Mosh Pit approach to a sales stand and shudder, but the size of the queue just to get into the sales area this time was unbelievable. I heard from some that it wasn't as bad as it looked but then they only went into the queue later on in the day. It seemed that for many it was awful. I only went into the sales area right at the end of the day so on the one hand I didn't have to queue, on the other hand the FW books I wanted to get hold of had sold out (but then I still got to order them with post free delivery, so i was happy with that)..

Dreadfleet – Why they thought they needed to push something like this so much and use up so much room I don’t know. It will sell out; the eBay market will ensure that people snap anything up that is limited edition, so why have such a big presence at Games Day?

Gaming area – I know some of the reasons but the fact the number of clubs now doing boards for GD is a fraction of what it once was id a real loss. These tables and the creations some people came up with was one of the big attractions to me in going to GD. It seems such a waste to have so few. Personally I would of dropped a few of the tables used up for Dreadfleet and bring and battle boards and given them to clubs to put together something better and more inspiring. Some of the tables there, including the big games were nice if not impressive, but there needed to be more. The themed Warhammer World tables are always worth seeing, even when you have seen then numerous times before. However why the one table needed that bloody air horn I do not know, that constantly going off was a real bitch and frankly the guy was running a fine line to getting it shoved up where the sun doesn’t shine. I cannot say without using expletives just how bloody annoying and unnecessary that idiot with his horn was.

Armies on Parade – Some of these looked excellent. Though it wasn’t always easy to tell being so far away. A better set up allowing you to get closer to the boards would have been really good. The lighting in the Arena isn’t exactly great so when you are a couple of metres away behind a barrier you can’t see all the result of the work many had put in well enough

Forgeworld – The only real shining light on the day. Always with something new, happy to discuss what is in the works. Quite enjoyed the masterclass put on by Mark Bedford and Phil Stutcinsskas (even with the interruptions from the idiot with the air horn). The boards set up for IA8 and 11 are excellent. Displays like this sell the hobby and the GW brand far better than some of the crap set up elsewhere.

There were other things on show, such as THQ doing their computer games, various competitions and Black Library signings with authors but to be honest that doesn’t float my boat.

So in summary a day only saved from being pointless by Forge World and meeting up with friends. The rest I could take or leave, more leave than take to be honest. Will probably give next year a miss, maybe I’m too old for GD now. Much like White Dwarf it has become something that doesn’t seem to be aimed at anyone over 14 or who hasn't been in the hobby for more than a year.

I want Games Day to excite me, enthuse me, inspire me and surprise me. Show me something that starts ideas forming and plans to be made for what I can do next. Games Day does not do this. From now on I will stick to going to the Forge World Open Day only.

Games Day UK 2011 - Part 2

2011-09-26T17:03:00.000+01:00

More Pictures from Me...

Armies on Parade.

These are just some of the nice boards on show, these are a selection of the pictures which turned out best. Shame we couldn't get closer to them for a really good look.

Gaming / Display Tables:

I think I will do a part 3 which will just be a summary of my impressions on the day. Should be up later...

Games Day UK 2011 - Part 1

2011-09-25T18:40:00.000+01:00

Games Day Pictures from Me.

Part 1 - Forge World

I didn't see anything interesting from GW but FW as always provided some nice new things to look at.

Warhammer 40k:

Above is the latest Macharius varient, who doesn't love some Plasma? Also planned - in the new Apoc book - is an artillery version with a bombard on the back.

Another blast from the past - the Rapier Laser Destroyer.

WIP bits - dunno what for i'm afraid...

The Space Wolves character from the forthcoming Imperial Armour Vol 11

The new Land Raider, though the first pic might be handy as a scale shot.

Another concept for Dark Eldar, from what I overheard this won't be happening, it was just one of many concepts done.

Warhammer Forge (WFB):

Wight Standard Bearer - unpainted pics all came out crap, but the painted ones were much better.

Wolf Rats, not much I can add to that.

Chaos Dwarf character.

And the big bull without the stuntie on top.

And possibly my favourite things on show...Toads for Storm of Magic.

Part 2 will be anything else I grabbed pictures off.

Recalcitrant Daze - Games Day 2011, Bell of Lost Souls and the Next Project(s)

2011-09-24T16:07:00.000+01:00

Good afternoon.

First let me apologise for not getting more pictures of Da Choppa up. It has been overcast the last few days and the pictures I did take during 'daylight' looked worse than the pictures I already had. I'll try and get some when the sun makes an appearance. So probably next June.

If you didn't know tomorrow is...

Hurrah.

Tomorrow I will be posting up the pictures I take on the day. Please keep in mind though that by the time I get home and sort through them (average about 150 odd) it will be late in the day. But I shall endeavour to get as many up on the blog as possible.

I have 'packed' Da Choppa ready to take for Golden Demon...

The reason for the plastic crate thing is that once I hand the tank over I can fold the container up and put it in my backpack. It is only so that the tank has something to sit in which gives it some protection in the car and also makes it easier for me to carry it to and from the car park.

Bell Of Lost Souls:

Last Friday my first article went up on Bell Of Lost Souls. If you haven't seen it you can find it here One Meks Guide to Lootin'. The feedback from the readers seemed pretty positive so I am now going to do a follow up article which will show in depth me looting a Chimera, it should show how I go from the initial idea to the finished article.

Unfortunately I won't be able to post up progress of this on RC untill after the article goes up.

So I shall at the same time be painting something else Orky which will allow me to put up regular posts on RC (and no doubt some more 'blast from the past' posts)...

The Next Project(s):

Here is a sneak peak of what will be on the painting block while I work on the BoLS vehicle.

I will also be working on the Marine BFG ships I will be picking up from FW tomorrow. They should be pretty quick to knock out

And to Close.

One last thing worth mentioning, there will be something like 10,000 people at Games Day tomorrow, but if you are there and you see someone walking around, with a bemused and over excited Geordie in tow, sporting new tattoos on his arms like this...

Tats are Awesome.
Especially new ones.

...say hello as it will be me.

Da Choppa 11

2011-09-21T23:51:00.000+01:00

Right.

Had enough. Tank is finished. Yes I know there are things I could do, but frankly i've done enough painting and it is either stop or now or get annoyed with it.

Some of the pictures are a bit naff to say the least so I will try and get better ones in daylight tomorrow.

But untill then this lot will have to do:

Da Choppa 10

2011-09-19T22:07:00.000+01:00

Well it is nearly, so very nearly, finished.

Still need to add rust and dust as well as pick out some things here and there. More oils perhaps as well.

No real need for much text, i'll just stick the pictures up.

I may get it finished tomorrow.

May.

Da Choppa 9

2011-09-14T23:31:00.000+01:00

I declare the Krew are done.

I could carry on messing around with them but frankly I can't do any better so i'm stopping now.

Glad I don't have any more teef, nails, eyes etc to do on this.

Hate painting people.

Da Choppa 8

2011-09-12T23:43:00.000+01:00

Progressing is being made...

Washes to the Zzap Cannon

The hull and turret have also had washes (these are just GW ones, oils still to be added).

And the krew have progressed quite a bit, still PIP though.

Ho hum. More in a day or two.

Da Choppa 7

2011-09-11T00:11:00.000+01:00

More painting. Yay.

No pics of the hull as all I did was start to paint the light and add some washes to the fans on the rear, I did though redo the glyphs on the gun mounts. Just didn't like the first go.

Still not completely happy...

Related to that a quick shot of the end of the two Zzap Cannon showing the hazard stripes better.

Sticking with weapons I started painting the turret weapon (a Shunta), still a bit to do on it but coming together ok I think.

I have started painting the Krew. I hate painting people (they may be Green but they still count as people). The two Orks are in progress of base coats but the two Grots are more progressed so are worthy of showing pics.

Keep in mind they are still PIP. And keep in mind I hate painting people (have I mentioned that yet?).

And finally while the Orks are not worthy of a pic I did work on the one Orks Power Klaw are fair bit today. So here is a pic of the arm, I only worked on the klaw though, the arm and strap are only base coated at the moment.

Quite happy how the hazard stripes turned out on it. Definately the last hazard stripes I will be doing on the tank. Fed up of doing them now. They take ages.

Update tomorrow one hopes, Monday at the latest.

Da Choppa 6

2011-09-09T21:45:00.000+01:00

Bit of a bits and pieces update this time.

Basically picking out some details which need to be done before the washes etc are added.

Decided to continue the hazard stripes that i did on the round plate on top onto the exhausts.

I then also did it on the ends of the Zzap Cannon:

Took bloody ages to do all that.

At the rear the fans got a coat of Boltgun and on the fuel storage some more hazard stripes and some checks were added.

Still need to do the glyph.

At the front some checks were added round the light, and I also added a bit of colour to the comms dish...

Also at the front the two glyphs were done, you can also see int he pic the tracks got done in Boltgun.

And the last thing for tonight, the gun mounts got a coat of Boltgun and also a couple of glyphs added to them (should of used either white, black or a darker colour for them). You can also see the glyph got done.

About it for tonight. Updates over the weekend I imagine.

Recalcitrant Daze - 100 Posts, 5 Months, 1 Propaganda Poster

2011-09-08T13:59:00.000+01:00

Today Recalcitrant Daze (Mk III) is five months old and also, completely by coincidence, hits 100 posts.

So how shall I go about celebrating this? Well other than doing this post I have nothing planned. But as way of a celebratory bonus here is something new at least, SC over at The Spring Offensive asked me to do one more propaganda poster as a favour which included a Krieg Korpsman:

Prefer it to the first version.

Anyway, to summarise the last month we had good progress being made on the War Altar with the aim for getting it done for Games Day only for the plan to radically change when sanity temporarily hit and I realised there was no way it would be done in time. So now Da Choppa is seeing progress and it will (it will) be done for Games Day.

Talking of Games Day I put in my Forge World order at the weekend. Of most note are the BFG ships which will finish off my Nurgle Plague Fleet. A couple of Grey Knight Cruisers and two sets of escorts will provide the Renegade Marine element of the fleet. So after Games Day my first job will be doing these final ships, I find the appeal of actually finishing an ‘army’ for the first time in 20+ years to be rather appealing, not to mention rather peculiar.

That should take us into next month (by the RD calendar, not the Gregorian calendar), nothing set in concrete for that month but as my niece’s favourite band says (who I happen to be listening to as I type this) “I’ve real big plans and such bad thoughts…”

A model based update should follow tomorrow…

Da Choppa 5

2011-09-06T21:42:00.000+01:00

Well, even with a few glitches such as crappy GW varnish sprays and running out of the Vallejo Model Air Turn Signal Red and an awkward moment the basic camo scheme has been laid down. I still need to do it on a hatch and the exhausts, but i'll have to wait for the new paint to arrive for that.

The glyphs on the skirts have been painted but I still need to do those on the turret and hull - as well as any dags. Also only started to re-base coat items that won't be camo, such as the chain, gun mounts ete.

And with the skirts and turret in place...

You may recognise the inspiration behind the camo scheme. I basically picked a GW one and bastardised it a bit. What looks like black in the picture is actually a dark green.