Things were going well, stuff was collected, plans were made

Then I got Covid, again, and spent the full 10 days in Quarantine and now, a month later, I still feel like shit. No energy, I'm focussing fully on losing weight, helped by the fact my benefits have been cut by 20% cause I've been sick for a year already.

There is just no room for the hobby. Not financially, and not in my head. Actually thinking about just liquidating it all, I can use the cash and the space. 

Looking forward to 2023, hopefully that will be a better year.

Iran-Iraq in 15mm. I've been gathering supplies so to speak.

 

(Yes, I know, it's a shitty pic)

When the dinosuars roamed the earth I made a 20mm Iraqi army to fight Piers Iranians. I fought him once, the army was never used again and eventually sold. 

But it still attracts. I have a few books about it, seen more wavy VHS recordings of the war than what is good for me. I'm still hunting for info and every while I keep finding photo's etc I've never seen before.

But why 15mm?

Basically the main reason.....I'm not happy buying in the UK anymore. It takes forever to arrive, customs charges are rather painful.

I've looked at 6mm, but metal comes from the UK and printing wise I don't have a lot of faith in gunbarrels in resin. Infantry....I really suck at infantry in 6mm.
10mm same problem really. 12mm is way too expensive for what you get. 20mm, as much as I love Elheim, well, UK.

So...15mm. The big push was being able to buy up almost 600 euros of shop stock at half price, giving me all the infantry I need for both sides and then some. Plus a nice start in vehicles as I still prefer plastic. I find resin to be ok for stuff you can't easily get or is too damn niche. Wasn't too much fun when I realised Battlefront isn't doing a lot of metal anymore and they stopped producing all the fun bits in favor of flavourless bland crap, but I guess they focus on competition, not on historical accuracy. So I scrounged all around Europe and found various mortar teams, 37mm AA guns, M48 tanks and what not.

Rules wise it will be Northag. So basing in Fireteams and preferably round bases.

When will I start? God knows. I've been here for 6 months now, trying hard to find a proper home for me and the girls and the hobby has taken a backseat. Well, not really, I have to sell loads of stuff as I have plenty I'm no longer interested in or need.

I did cram everything in Excel so I can actually plan what I do instead of diving in headlong like a Viking Lemming (which is what I do usually, in case you hadn't noticed!)

Not much of an update this, but it's a start :)

How to kill a project in 4 weeks...

 Well.....

 I had picked up some stuff to do Winter of 44 in 15mm, and decided I liked cobbling with it so I tried to pick up some more stuff.

Metal seems hard to find and is expensive, and their flexible plastic troops are horrible.

4 botched deals in 4 weeks time with me bidding and winning stuff, having it reserved in my name and waiting for their payment app....and getting a weak ass sorry and they've sold it to another chap who wanted that specific item as well. I know, it can happen with anything, but the Flames of War sellers make me sick with this behaviour.

So, what little I've bought is going right back out again. Not wasting any time with this lot and saving me a ton of aggro. And what I make with is going towards another Tumbling Dice order.

Teeny Tiny Technical printed!

 Isn't it adorable?

Now to actually paint them.....

New stuff

 As I won't (well, can't) go on holiday but did have a nice jar of pennies for it, I set a part aside in the kids jar and invested the rest in myself. Most of it will be going to payments for a gyropractor to get my spine bent back into shape. Had 2 treatments already and I can actually move my neck around again without it sounbding like you are walking on twigs and gravel. Bloody expensive though....but worth it. Should have done this years ago, but was always dissuaded not to do that by the hospital. Well, they have not done jack shit in years, so hey. My call.

The rest I invested in new tools.

A Sparmax GP-35. I've read great reviews from other folks who have arthritis (like symptoms) and I want to start using the airbrush again, and I hope this will hurt a lot less than my Evolutions, that I haven't used in ages. Well, I can't even find them atm. Added a nice clear line to replace my old braided one, and a big bottle of Clean Slate 3.0 paint remover, as I have some old stuff to clean up.

Also made a order with Greenstuff World (boo hiss, yeah, I know....) as I have run out of greenstuff while working on a project (and it's damn good excercise for my hands). Bought a new tube cutter as my old one broke ages ago, and got some throw away brushes for weathering work. Also some Ork bits as, well, Orks.

Raising the 20mm German Army

No, not like a Necromancer

 

Facebook reminded me I got back from Ireland 10 years ago and I think it is time I bring the German army back to life. I made it for Normandy, but there is no reason why it can't work for Russia 44 onwards, so...

Grabbed some old bits and ran it through primer.

I made these aeons ago from Britannia figures for foxholes (in Battlegroup moving out of them removes them) and I like the visual aspect of proper things on the table. I can't remember if I made more, but these are a nice start. I still have my old notebook so I know what paints to use, always handy. 

Also picked up some boxes of PSC 20mm GAZ trucks (been promising myself those sinced April 2021) and will copy this prime bit of Beute AA. The keying on the bed to the frame could be better (well, there is basically none) but otherwise I'm not having any real issues and I like it. As soon as my new greenstuff arrives (I'm out) I'll rebuild the tarp as in the  photograph. I need to find my AA mounted DHsK that is in my stash ....somewhere. The open part of the bed isn't correct, but this looks better visually as the inside has no detail. I'll grab my scribing tool and do the next ones proper, easily done when when on the sprue. Now, not so much, but hey, challenges!

Also, nothing is stopping me from making a German and a Russian gunner of course on a drop in base. Well, maybe.

Teeny Tiny Technical, my first proper foray into 3D...thingy

 Ran into a topic with Technicals, as one does (Well, I do) and I spotted a Ukrainian UAZ-452 with a turret with a M-60 on it. And I like oddballs, so....

Cute, innit?

A quick stroll over Thingyverse netted me a UAZ-452, addons for it like lights etc, and I nicked the turret from a BA-64, downloaded Meshmixer and..... did a lot of swearing. But 2 hours later I have this:

Not perfect, but looks the part. Passing it on to Modhail for cleanup and getting the bugs out, and print 2 for 20mm TW:2K for raiders or militia, and a few in 15mm perhaps for funsies?

Even more guns! Flakk Trakk WIP

 Picked up a bag of bits and it had a Invictor warsuit (whatever GW....) big Assault Cannon, so replaced the one I had with NEWER! BIGGER! BETTER! assault cannon. 

Size doesn't matter....is something no Ork would ever say. 

I think it needs more sensors.....

Thanks to Kees I now have a huge bag of Ork Dakkajet bits (thx bud!) and already set aside some parts that will be going into this build (more guns!)

Also had hobby night tonight, Modhail brought some more (well, alot) 3D printed parts so I spent some time washing and cleaning them right away, and fixing what is broken (remember kids, resin is brittle) and basing some of the stuff of the STL's I purchased, more on that soon, I hope. 

A generator with a shattered base, fixed with epoxy, I trimmed a statue in Blender to affix to the ruined high rise I'm working on, and have a 3 up (or something) Autogun for the gunshop I'm making. I've asked Modheil to make me another one 180 degrees reversed so I can combine the 2 on a big pointy arrow on something I finsihed but never showed. Again, soon. And some rock grubs in the back.

Tug Job

 

Having sold my WW2 1/300 naval forces and with the North Korean submarine right in front of me to paint, I started work on the tugs my mate printed for me (cause why finish something when you can just start new stuff....right? Right...? <sigh>)

 

2 hours of work and 18+ cursewords to get the sandbags and tires into place (and to get them to stick). Nicked a gun from the Cruel Seas sprues no one wanted to buy (is the game really that bad ey?) and once it has all set, do the water and hit it with primer.

 

And then we have a tug with a gun. A background piece. Sometimes I wonder how my mind works....

 

 

More guns? More guns! Flakk Trakk WIP

 Slowly cobbling along, Orks really are my true love (wargaming wise) just to go bonkers on stuff.

 So much more to do, but having a lot of fun doing it :)

Dear Diary, why do I keep building Ork stuff?

 Cleaning my desk, cleaning models, working on the house, starting a new Ork build. Why o why.... It does look cool though, sofar.

Deleting old blogposts

 The Photobucketalpyse was 5 years ago, and quite a few of my older Blogposts are no longer worth a read, so today I've deleted over a 100 posts that have been without pics for years now.

Yes, that means showreports, anmd tutorials etc are gone now, but I don't have those pics anymore on my harddrives so I just deleted the lot. Shit happens, but such is life.

Let it go

 Letting go is very hard for me, selling stuff feels like killing dreams and ideas....and I don't like that. But keeping everything is impossible, I have enough for 4 lifetimes and atm I'm not even sure I can complete 1 lifetime, and this takes up a lot of space, so might as well.

It will cost me an entire afternoon to sort the lot, check all the boxes, compare prices, and put up for grabs, but so be it.

And don't worry, I have crates and more crates full of the stuff.

So....let's say bye bye and focus what I;'m working on.

So, speaking of houses the other day.....

 We had a chat and build evening on monday (the 11th) and after getting out one of my older builds to do more work....I wasn't feeling it, grabbed a sheet of left over rock hard foamboard and went to toen. I've been working on it for a hour or so every day since.

Open

Open shop space, doorway to a flight of stairs leading up (and going nowhere) and a balcony fit for 40mm based figures if I want. Pipes from the popular Chinese ones every scratchbuilder and their mother seems to use. Space in the back is open so I can add a LED or 2 for nice pictures (not with this phone though....)

Windows, for people who want to see.

Lift off roof being dryfitted (it's a wee bit snug)

Edges trimmed with card. Roof will stay bare so I can fit other stuff or extentions on it.

It's meant to be used in Necromunda and This is not a Test as part shop, part LOS blocker, semi ruined and dilapidated. I made a lift off roof for it, one of the shops is open so I can put stuff in it (and use the other one to store bits and bobs when not in use). I'm heavily inspired by Magpie and Old Lead and his excellent Blog and for the love of everything that is holy, I want to finish this one dammit. 

The basics for the doors fitted

Not sure where I was going with the block extention, but I need to search my bits boxes for some more vents. And dump tons of crap etc.

On this end the roof sags down on the left.....we'll just blame soggy ground (Measure 3 times, cut once and still fuck up.....thats me!). Once painted up, no one cares.... Commercial sign will go up above the door.

The back alley where you wouldn't want to be found dead, but most likely will be. This needs more detailing.

Not sure yet about colors, I have grey, natural green, red and a nice bone color in tubes and pots to work with (I'm not insance enough to be painting this up with GW paint pots, thank you very much)

Our house, in the middle of....nowhere

 While selecting kits to be sold off I found a box of this Perry Store in the box, unbuilt. It was a bit of a toss up to sell and get a few euros. or just build it, and since I had just brought over the house and barn that had been built and primed for ages (priorities), well.... Yeah, I built it, my way. 

As this is a shop front I don't have a use for a open bit on the side, so with some CTRL+C and CTRL+V I closed it off using surplus parts from the kit. Not the cleanest but those cuts will be hidden with foliage. 

Scenery is always good. Should work for many a thing. Primer tonight, paint tomorrow, who knows.

Swab the deck!

 I picked up a abused unfinished ship for a 1/300 harbor, but boy was she dirty (and cheap). 

As far as I can seee she is complete though, which is nice, saves me more work. More later when I make progress and waterline her (and get major butthurt from collectors, but meh)

Romeo, oh Romeo (AK-47 Objective Build)

 Over on the AK-47 FB page there is a objectives build, ending...tomorrow evening, I think. It took me too long to find something useful for my 1/300 stuff as most of it is still packed up So I couldn't grab any kits of parts to build. I did find my Cruel Seas collection (most of it is now sold) and in that box was a Romeo sub. I have no idea why it was in there, must have bought it in a lot or something?

Well, built it, cut it in half, added a base and Vallejo water texture. Added a gastank from a M3 Honey on the back (explanation later) and will be painted (eventually) as a North Korean sub cause Emerald Green looks weird enough as a color as it is.

Next time I might even get something done before a deadline. 

Shine a little light on me

 Finished the worklight on the back of the van Rhino. It came from a Sentinel, and the base is from a Ork Gargant, cabling is soldering wire.

I recycled a Chaos vehicle ram into a light bar using more 1/24 truck parts. It needs more work and cabling, but after that small details, cleanup and tracks and ready for primer!

Knock knock? More like DAKKA DAKKA!

 As a Ork Ambulance has to be the most hated kind of ambulance in 40K, it should look accordingly. 

Guessing eveyone and their pet Squig will shoot at this, so added more bulletimpacts. Most likely it will get more before primer hits it.

What's up, Doc?

 Finished the detailing of the big symbol on top, revealing who's ride this is.  Well, as far as white on whiote is easy to photograph anyway....

Yup, it is for a Ork Painboy and his crew. Painboy has been on order for over a month <sigh> but I have a gazillion bits for his crew. Next up is more work on the rear doors

Smokey and the barrel.

 Removed the right front armored exhaust cover (God I love my Japanese saw) and replaced it with something more....Orky. I guess fuel drums will always be a useful tool for any Ork Mek. Almost done now with all the modifications, work is now to be done on the top and rear section, then slap on the tracks. And to find my missing Rhino headlights....somewhere.

Top of the line Grot-O-Matic Big Shoota

 The best weapon teeth can buy. Well, maybe. Ah, who are we kidding. 

Armor plate protects the ammo feed, sight is underneath the Big Shoota (and partially covered by the front armor plate on the Rhino, of course). Just needs the magnets, when I find them. Added the most useless ram spike on the Rhino ever.

Now to further detail the rest, add 2 more exhausts, and start work on the rear doors.

Full Frontal

 Frontal armour plate finished. Then added blunt force damage with my burner, melted half the bolts, and redid those. There is such a thing as planning, and I'm not good at it :)

Also did the drivers cuppola in the cheapest way possible by recycling one my failed Grot mini tank. 

Next up either a new rear door or the top, which will be raised a bit. Then small details before paint. Now that's been a while, painting stuff. 

I might even finish something. There, now I've jinxed it.