Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Holidays!

It's been a silent night around here, huh?

I've been busy with everything and probably won't get around to posting again until 2014.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and get all the toys you want.

~Syko

Monday, December 9, 2013

Nurgle Chaos Lord and Impudent Mortal

I have finished the Nurgle Chaos Lord and dropped him off in the case of my local GW store.  I'm pretty happy with him.  I think I got him done, start to finish in about 8 or 9 hours.


I also wanted to plug Impudent Mortal again.  Their web store is now live and you can find it here.

In a past review of the Impudent Mortal Terrain, I said that they needed to post directions for the construction of these amazing buildings.  Walt came through and you can find them all here.

Next project that I'm going to work on is finishing up the rest of my Dropzone Commander Shaltari models.

~Syko

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Wait... What Do You Mean It's Thursday?!?

I'm trying hard to update on Sunday and Wednesday but things have been so crazy around here with Thanksgiving and what not that I've lost track of the days.

Well, the good news in all this is I've managed to do some actual hobby!

My shiny new Games Workshop store is having a monthly Brotherhood of the Brush painting competition and I just couldn't help but get involved.  The theme for December is Warriors of Chaos and that gave me the opportunity to paint a model I've wanted to for some time, the Nurgle Chaos Lord.

Assembly of the model was very simple and I could have spent hours converting the heck out of it but I wanted to focus on painting.  So far I've got about 5 hours into the model and am happy with how it's come together so far.





I've got quite a lot to do to him still, maybe another 5 or 10 hours until he's done.  I'm just pleased to be back in the saddle.

Also, the GW store is doing "A Tale of Many Gamers" which is basically an escalation league, building and painting 3000 points over the course of 6 months.  It was a good excuse for me to pick up the Eldar Ghost Warriors set to get me started.  Look for work on those over the coming months.

~Syko

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers.

Not much of an update today as I've got a house full of people getting ready for the holiday.

I spent the last two days completing the organization of my paints but haven't had time to put paint to model.  Hopefully next Wednesday's update will see some more Dropzone Commander models completed.

Have a great holiday weekend.  Don't eat too much turkey and if you are anything like me, enjoy avoiding all the Black Friday nonsense.

~Syko

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Finally! Progress Has Begun on Models Again!

(Read the title of this post in the style of The Rock doing a wrestling promo)

Hey guys, it seems like it's been forever but I finally got started working on actual models again.  Today I managed to move 14 items (38 models) to the finished column of my Kanban Board.  Not that it was really a lot of work but it's progress, right?

So what got done I hear you asking... well...

I flocked the bases on my Dropzone Commander Shaltari Braves and Firstborn then satin coated them and brushed gloss on their lenses.

I satin coated and painted gloss on the lenses of the following Dropzone Commander models:

Six Shaltari Tomahawk Main Grav Tanks

Six Shaltai Kukri AA Grav Tanks

Two Shaltari Warspear Heavy Fighters

Four Shaltari Yari Light Grav Tanks

Four Shaltari Haven Terragates

I also satin coated the Warsenal Large and Small Containers

Now that I've got things moving along I'm going to try to put a huge dent in my backlog.

Also, I'm trying real hard to make sure I'm updating on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.  Bear with me though because things are still kind of hectic around here, especially with the holidays coming up.

See you again on Wednesday.

~Syko

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Damn You Carl Tuttle! Damn You to Hell!!!

I'm a regular listener to both The Independent Characters and The Overlords Podcasts.  Lately they have both been talking quite a bit about Kanban Boards and I thought it might be a good way to keep me moving on my projects so I signed up for Kanban Flow a few weeks ago.

Tonight I got serious about filling it out and have spent the last several hours cataloging my models that are waiting for paint.  Oh my freaking lord!!!  I really didn't realize how bad it was until I got started on this.  I'm probably not even halfway done entering information and haven't even started on 40K.  Add to that the fact that I have a crapton of models coming from various kickstarters and I think I'm going to have enough to keep me busy for the next two years.

Here is a quick screen shot of what I've gotten cataloged so far.


The left column, "Prep to Assemble" is huge right now and I have barely even scratched the surface of it.  It's going to take me a few days to get this thing completely filled in and there will be some items added to the "Painting in Progress" section soon.

I blame you, Carl Tuttle... this is all your fault!

Monday, November 18, 2013

New Hobby Station Is Near Completion

Sorry for the lack of updates, but between taking a week long motorcycle trip to Mexico and other things, I've just been swamped.

I've been working on my hobby area over the last few days and it's finally coming together.


It's not as spacious as I had hoped but since I opted to put it in my office and not build an exterior location for it, I have to make do.

I went with an Artograph 1530 Spray Booth that I have ducted out the window.  So far I really like this.  Yes it's kind of pricey but I think it's worth it.  I've had a cheap one in the past and was never happy with how it worked.
You can also see I have a new Grex Tritium TS3 airbrush.  It's a side feed and can do either gravity or siphon.  So far I've only used the gravity.  It does seem to be a bit of a paint hog but I'm still getting used to the brush so I'm sure it will get better as I learn to use it properly.
I've also picked up a few OTT Lights to help with lighting my paint area.

 I picked up this corner piece today at Lowes for $20.  I actually got two but found that one was going to be plenty so I'll be returning the unused one tomorrow.  It's perfect for the larger things that just won't fit in drawers and things that I find I use regularly.

While I was out today I stopped by Tandy Leather to get some supplies for one of my other hobbies and saw this tool stand.  The block of wood is made for leather working tools but is ideal for holding my brushes.
I think I need to get me another set of Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes.  I really miss my old set that I passed down to a newer hobbyist earlier this year when I got in the Games & Gears brushes, which I have yet to be impressed with.

These little drawers work very well for holding minis that are in various stages of preparation.  Right now they have my Impact Chibi Dungeon Explorer models that I am chomping at the bit to paint up as well as my Super Dungeon Explore models and a few other random pieces.
And of course, there is another OTT Light which I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Lathan over at Burn in Designs hooked me up with some paint racks, which I will probably review in the near future.


More paints, racks and weathering powders.  For someone that paints a lot of GW models I sure don't own a lot of Citadel Paint.

So, once I'm done getting my office cleaned up and have a few minutes to myself, I plan to get busy on some painting.

~Syko

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Kickstarter Mania!!!

Zombicide has arrived!!!


God only knows when I'll get a chance to play it but I'm looking forward to it.

At the same time Season Three of Dreadball arrived.  My painting backlog is now officially insane.


Speaking of painting... I'm almost finished with the Warsenal Shipping Containers.


All that's left is for me to seal them with a satin finish and a little gloss in strategic areas then do a little washing with Agrax Earthshade.  I'm pretty happy with how they are turning out.

~Syko

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

OMG! Stuff Is Getting Done!

Sorry for the late update.  I've been trying to work as much as I can on the Warsenal terrain pieces and am pretty happy with the results I've gotten.

Yesterday I finished up the Warsenal Square and Angled Planters.  They came out pretty well, I think.


The Warsenal Containers have been a whole 'nother animal.  I decided that I wanted to weather the crap out of them and do some stencil work as well.  Yesterday I finished the weathering powders and prepped them with salt and hairspray.  Today I shot them blue and tonight I've been hand cutting stencils for the doors, half of which I've already shot.  Tomorrow I'll be doing the stencil for hazard stripes and shoot that.  I hope these are done and ready by this weekend.


~Syko

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Warsenal Terrain Review

A few weeks ago I attended Duel Con II.  I had a great time and recommend it to anyone into Warhammer 40K, WarmaHordes or Infinity.

While I was there I had the opportunity to meet the Warsenal guys and bought a few of their terrain kits.  I was very impressed with the pieces they had on the Infinity game boards and look forward to exploring those more in the future.

Once I got home and had a chance, I started assembling the kits I got from them.  I was very, very impressed with the quality of their kits and how simple they were to put together.  I was also impressed with their customer service as I discovered a flaw with the acrylic parts on the Angled Planters.  I emailed them and within 24 hours they had replacement parts out to me.  It's always disappointing to find a flaw in a kit but it's great when the manufacturer goes out of their way to correct the error.

The kits I got didn't have any directions with them but they are so simple they really don't need it.  They went together so well and most everything fit perfectly.

Here are the kits I assembled and links to the Warsenal page where you can find them.  Note, I purchased two of each kit.

Large Shipping Containers and Small Shipping Containers



 Square Planters and Angled Planters



In all I really like these and am looking forward to getting some of their full buildings in the near future.

~Syko

Friday, October 18, 2013

Impudent Mortal's Tabletop Gaming Terrain Part Deux! - A Review

Back in June, Walt from Impudent Mortal began his second Kickstarter project.  I had been so pleased with the first that, being a terrain junkie I had to get in on the second one.

At some point during the move, my buildings arrived and the box got shoved in a corner along with all the other boxes of cool stuff that still haven't had anything done with them.  Once I got my hobby station to a point I was content with it, I pulled out the box of mdf goodness and got to work.

The first thing I really like about this offering was the option to leave out the puzzle pieces.  I really didn't enjoy having to basically build the model twice so this was a major plus to me.

In this product line, Walt has expanded quite a bit.  You still get a lot of similar style buildings but now he has released "L" and "T" shaped buildings as well as the "Epic" buildings that make a great centerpiece for any table.

For the most part, this is a great offering from Impudent Mortal.  The buildings go together quite well and there are a ton of great bells and whistles and options to make each piece stand out.

If I had any complaint with these, it's that you have to watch a video or view photos of finished buildings in order to figure out how to build them.  I am aware that it's a pain in the butt to print out a diagram and package it with the product.

If you find these interesting and want to look into them for yourself, you can find their third Kickstarter here which has already been funded and still has 25 days to go.  It seems to be very Infinity themed and while I really like the Holographic Advertisement Set, I'm afraid the price is more than I'm willing to spend on it at this time.

Here's some shots of what I got and have assembled.


~Syko

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Triumphant Return!

Greetings loyal readers!

I just wanted to take a moment to give an update.  I know it's been forever and a day (3 months to be exact) but I've been crazy busy.

We are back in the US and have bought a house in the vicinity of Austin, Tx and have been getting that all situated.  You wouldn't believe the amount of crap we have!  Currently I am working with a small set up for my hobby station and am waiting for the paint trays from Burn in Designs to arrive so I can get started.  I have a ton of half finished projects that I want to get back to plus lots of new stuff.

I went to Duel Con last month and had a very good time.  I didn't participate in any tournaments and only brought Dreadball with me which I demoed for several people over the weekend.  Great fun.  Mostly I just hung out with the Freebootaz but I did get to watch several demos of Wild West Exodus, which looks amazing as well as got to purchase some great terrain from Warsenal.

I've had a ton of kickstarter orders arrive over the last few months.  Dreadball Season 2, Kings of War, Impact Miniatures - Chibi Dungeon Adventures, Impudent Mortal's Tabletop Gaming Terrain and Powered Play all sent me packages and I am super excited to dig into all of them as I have time.

So, I will be having some reviews in the near future, some pics of my hobby area and of course, some pics of models that I am working on.

~Syko




Wednesday, July 10, 2013

All Things Must Come to an End

From July 2004 to June 2007 I was deployed as a contractor in Bagram Afghanistan.
In January 2009 I deployed again, this time to Camp Phoenix in Kabul Afghanistan.

Before the end of July, 2013 my time here will be done.

Seven years of my life has been devoted to supporting the troops over here.  My small part was to give the ones on my base a venue to play wargames.  Over the last 4 years I've had over 30 gamers come through our little group and I've enjoyed knowing each and every one of them.

What does this mean for the blog?

I'll be honest, for the next several months I'll be extremely busy.  There is the small matter of our being homeless and having no cars (3 Harleys but no cars) so I'll be busy getting all that set up.  I'll also be learning the ropes in my newest job endeavor.  For the last several years I've dreamed of opening a game store.  With the economy and the way the manufacturers are treating the mom and pop shops, this doesn't seem like a good time.  Plus, I have a family business that needs help so I'll be stepping into that.

All that said, other than a short burst here and there, this humble blog will likely not be updated much for the next several months.  Once I'm back expect massive amounts of hobby related posting.

See you all soon

~Syko

Thursday, June 27, 2013

I'm Baaaaack... for now

Hey, hey wargamers!  I'm back!

Well, actually I've been back for about a week and a half but I'm back in the hobby.  I have a lot of exciting news this week and some great updates to share.

First, vacation was great!  I logged almost 4000 miles on the Harley over two weeks and got to spend some quality time with my daughter who graduated from high school while we were there.  I also got to go to Wargamescon and meet some great people from the community.  It looked like a great event but since I was just travelling around and didn't have time I just wandered around and got to talk to some cool people and see some amazing models.  All in all, very cool.

Secondly, my uber hawt wife and I have decided that we are calling it quits over here.  I've spent every morning for the last week packing and mailing boxes home.  We are planning to be back in the states again around the first of August.  This means I can probably make it to Duelcon this year (yay!) and actually play (double yay!).

The third thing is a bit of a downer for me but it's also positive overall.  It looks like the game store is in an indefinite holding pattern.  I was convinced that I needed to help my brother take care of the family's business.  My brother is 62 and his health isn't too great so he needs help and I'm the last member of the family that can take over.  The money is potentially very good and this is my future inheritance so I better take care of it.

On to the hobby.

I have shelved the World Eaters for now and will get back to them when I am back in the states and have access to everything I need to make them work for me.

I decided to start painting my Dropzone Commander Shaltari models this week.  I started priming them white but then realized that white primer on white resin/plastic doesn't show up.  Instead of setting up the airbrush I busted out my green Army Painter spray primer that I smuggled a few years ago.  Once they were primed green I airbrushed them yellow using Minitaire Irradiated Yellow.  I should be done with base coating by Monday.





Next up I took a small commission right before I left and had to buy the model while I was home.  This week I assembled it and magnetized it and got it all ready for paint.  I give you, the Tau Riptide!










Last but most certainly not least, while I was home GW released what is, in my opinion, the sexiest plastic model kit they have ever produced.  I had to have one just to paint and happily dropped the $115 for it.  I got the Eldar Wraith Knight assembled and magnetized over the last two nights and am really happy with it.  I hope to get it done before I leave.





As you can see, between getting everything boxed up and ready to leave the desert and my hobby projects... I'm a busy Syko.