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

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

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

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

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

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

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