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Truly a legend.. The man felt every note he played. RIP. He'll be missed.

And another Great leaves us to the mindless modern pop
B.B. definitely fit the legend bill!

Well now. That was a longer gap in proceedings than I expected. If you didn't know, I've been over in my "making money with modelling" thread making things to make me money (mainly to plough back into modelling). It feels like it's been ages since I've made anything for myself, and well... it has been about 7 months.
Over that time I didn't want to pop back in here just to point out other people that died and end up with a mausoleum section in the middle of this blog; this is not what this blog is for, there are better places for that. It does seem that many Icons have passed in the past year or two. Maybe that's just a sign I'm getting older and therefore the people I have grown up with are now dying... Maybe I have just been keeping up with current affairs more than when I was younger.

Therefore, without anything of relevant substance to post, I let this blog gather some dust for a bit.
Now that I've just finished a big commission piece that promises to pay well I can come back here and do a thing or two for myself (which I hope you, if you are still out there, will enjoy watching).

First, some related music (been somewhere else, another location, = Bilocation, geddit?) from an album that I have been enjoying recently:



What, dear reader, am I going to do first?
My list of things to do has continued to grow unceasingly and more fluff has been written, on and off, for various flashes of inspiration.
One day, these things will be shown off as I create the models to match them. However, not yet...

During my time working over in my other thread I have had a couple of things staring at me, pleading me to do something with them, and their time has come.

First, is something I made for a previous model that wasn't used and has been left, unfinished, for all this time. Unlike many people, I don't like to leave things unfinished; if I start a job, I have to see it finished or it bugs me.

Those of you that were here at the time will remember my Predator tank that I built. On this, I had planned to have a "captured" body of a space marine that The Scientist will use as "raw materials" to create another member of the army. However, the body proved too big to find a suitable home on the tank, and so was left to one side... staring at me... all this time...

He will now become an objective marker (that might be useful if I ever get around to playing the game).
But I can't just glue the body to a base, add a few plants and rocks and call it done; that's a bit boring. So I'm adding a few bits and pieces that I see as a collection of useful things ready for picking up by The Scientist. I'll also make a beacon of some kind so it can be found.
Here's what I have so far:

The base is a lid that I have saved to be used for this purpose, covered in some polyfilla to give a flat top.
You can also see a box and radio from OMN, and a bolt pistol.
I'll likely add a few more "useful" bits as it progresses.

This should prove to be a quick job that will get me back into the swing of things and blow the dust off.

[guilt trip]No one? Oh well, I'll have to build up my followers again... [/guilt trip]

Right, this is where it's heading:

Final position of the radio and gun are to be decided.
The cogs have been glued down since this photo.

I'm thinking of incorporating a number "1" into this, as numbered objective markers seem to be the thing.
I may also find something for the marine to have been holding when he died (potentially after being bagged up).

Now to go and usher people from my other thread and send them over here.

We are here....just lurking.

Always liked the smurf in a sack, will have to call you Gargomel.

looks good so far, what about a dead mans switch in his hand, linked to the box?

Nice objective marker!

Hey, that objective marker looks great!

Ooo . I'm interested to see where this objective marker is going...

EDC

Looks good! It's nice to do something for yourself once in a while ^^

Camkierhi wrote:We are here....just lurking.

Yeah, we all do that from time to time.

Always liked the smurf in a sack, will have to call you Gargomel.

Now, I was going to debate upon which chapter to use for the exposed hand, but that has decided it; smurf it is.

looks good so far, what about a dead mans switch in his hand, linked to the box?

Hmm, well he is dead already ("by now" I should say), and I don't want this to be a trap. It's a collection of useful things waiting to be ... collected... by The Scientist.

I was thinking something more like a memento, that the marine would have clinging on to as he clung to life. But now his hand has opened to reveal (or release) what it is. Very cinematic, y'know.

Thanks 'boss.

Thanks Cleatus.

Thanks (Evil) Dr Cheese. We don't worry about labels such as "mad" or "evil" around here. We're all friends.

Thanks ckig. Indeed it is. I do enjoy whatever I'm modelling, but it has been a long time.



Radio has got it's aerial and been glued down with the bolt pistol.

And I've added plant-life. But not in the usual way:
I wanted to show that this area had been cleared to make space for the collection, so the taller plants have been cut down (I may still add some loose leaves around the back, and maybe some small grass tufts).

One of the plants is the end of a piece of Christmas tree, there's a sprue plant (cut in half), and a couple of stumps from a sandwich-bag tie and tissue experiment plant.

I'm impressed that you made a plant out of the sprue I normally just throw out.

A teddy bear then!

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:I'm impressed that you made a plant out of the sprue I normally just throw out.

Don't throw out your sprue!
Make use of it, I can give you a long list of uses for sprue.

A hut:

Spoiler:

Everything between the mud on the base (dried paint on a CD) and the metal plates of the roof (card) is made of sprue. That includes all the "wood", the plants/flowers, a ladder and it's hook, the table, the bench, and the bottles on the table.
The tutorial for the whole build is here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/545398.page#5935106

I've also carved hands, swords and many other small pieces out of sprue:

Spoiler:

For larger things, you can glue pieces of sprue together with poly' cement.

You can also use pieces stuck together to quickly bulk out a shape before covering in GS (or equivalent putty).
I did this for the nose on my Wave Serpent:

Spoiler:

You can use wedges of sprue for re-posing models. Glue in with cement and then cut/sand down. Saves on putty and creates a stronger join:

Spoiler:

Two pieces, stuck back to back and a third round piece of sprue were used for the mines on this model's base:

Spoiler:

And the support structure for the dozer blade on this tank is largely sprue:

Spoiler:

The electrical boxes on the Tryanid's back, the back of the Ork's chair, The computer monitor the 'nid is looking at, the details on the ceiling and front, and many other small parts etc, are all sprue here...

Spoiler:

It's my "go to" material of choice when modelling.

It's free and it can be glued with plastic cement.

The plants I've been making for a while after I found this tutorial: http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page350.html

Don't throw out your sprue.

Camkierhi wrote:A teddy bear then!

You jest (I think), but I did think about making a tiny smurfette after the previous comments. But this may be becoming sillier than I want the army to get; "mad" and "silly" are two different things.

Anyway, what do we think about this as a possibility?

A ball-chain that I had laying about. I like the way it sits in the hand, but it might be a tad large for the purpose.
Thoughts?

In other news: I'm looking at air-brushes and have a thread over in the P&M section: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/670396.page#8258626
If you are in to that sort of thing, have a look and give me an opinion. There is a short-list to decide upon.
Ta.

Hold up lads... I've had a better idea:

I remembered that I'd cut off the aquillas from a couple of bolters (that I had used on the Helbrute commission). One of those would be the perfect thing for Mr. Smurf to be holding in death.

Painting:

The mud 'n' rocks are done.
The marine wrapping is done.
The plants and metals are only basecoated.

I went for a slightly dried blood stain on the wrapping where the marine is missing a leg.

The wrap is very swish. Honestly, I turn my back for a couple of days and all this cool stuff starts turning up... tsk

Those sprue tips are awesome! Thanks.

Paint is looking good as well. The wrap is excellent. The little aquila is a nice touch and more subtle. I like it

Thanks Graven. Cool stuff is everywhere, you just have to look.

ckig wrote:Those sprue tips are awesome! Thanks.

Hope they prove useful to anyone willing to put in a little effort for something free.

Paint is looking good as well. The wrap is excellent. The little aquila is a nice touch and more subtle. I like it

Thanks. Now with added paint...

The plants, metals and smurf hand are now painted.

I've kept the cogs mostly corrosion-free as I want them to look useful (The Scientist wants to collect useful things, not stuff beyond repair).
The box has a few spots of rust as it's what's in the box that is useful (to be decided but will involve the number 1).
The post for the beacon however, is very rusty as it's just been put up for the purpose of directing the collectors.
The plants and their chopped off parts have been left healthy-looking to show that the chopping has happened recently.

The bolt pistol will likely end up "classic" red.
The plan for the radio is the paint it white with a blue display to match those found in Portal 2 (in colour not style)... I may have to make some scale Portal radios if someone doesn't get to it before me... and then there's the companion cube etc... Where's that can of worms, I may have to open it.
And there's the beacon equipment to be painted too.

In other news;

Having recently ordered one of my Christmas presents from Japan on Thursday, cheaper than any equivalent model I could buy in England (yeah I'm getting a cool model for Christmas), and it arriving on the following Monday...

...and now finding an air-brush from Japan, for less than half price...

I'm loving Japan right about now.

If you want to know what model I'm getting, I'm not telling.
But my avatar is a good clue.

And the AB I'm getting is an Iwata HP-C+
I also found a MAC valve quick-disconnect, also from Japan, that will make this the equivalent of the HP-CH.
That's a £225 air-brush for £81 (plus whatever customs want).

Yeah, loving Japan.

good deal on the AB.. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

Damn that looks good.

Solar_lion wrote:good deal on the AB.. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

Yes it is.
It'll mainly be for priming and basecoats, but I went for a fancy AB so that I had the option to learn more techniques and uses.

Thanks Cleatus.

As I can't really decide on what kind of number I want on this (or any future) objective marker, I'm going to leave it off for now.
Which means... it is done.

The base (lid) that I used had a groove around it and it gave me the idea to make the objective marker stand out, as it should do.
Taking some kind of subconscious inspiration from computer games, I went for a bright green "target" ring.


And this is what it looks like:


Up next is going to be something different.
Back in January, I got some money back from the RSC, as I have a limited income, for some of the letters after my name.
I almost immediately spent that money on a model... I mean, why wouldn't you...

Having quite a few GW models I decided to get something different, and actually go back to the kind of models I started with and had only built until 2012 when I started on GW figures.
I bought an Airfix kit.

This box, as I mentioned before, has been staring at me all year. So it's time to see how much better I can build an Airfix model with all the techniques I have learnt painting GW miniatures.
It won't be part of this army, or anything to do with the game, just a display model.

All will be revealed next time.

FWIW "standard" el cheapo chess and checkers sets are made with 40mm disc pieces with straight sides.

Is that the standard size for an objective marker?
This one is double that...
Note to self; make a set of smaller, more practical, objective markers also.

That turned out beautifully.

Thanks Gits'.

Today we have a Sigur-style update. What do I mean by that? Check his thread out, it's worth it.

What I mean is that there will be a little real-life background to the model first.

I am building an Airfix 1:48 scale Westland Lynx HMA 8.

The Westland Lynx is a British multi role helicopter that has seen service in both land based army forms as well as ship based naval variants. Entering service in 1977, the Lynx has since seen many upgrades and improvements throughout service history.

The Mk8 navel variant entered service with the Royal Navy in early 1990s and has since gone on to provide them with an execellent maritime attack helicopter, performing well in anti-submarine role, search and rescue situations and more recently, anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.

Fiercely armed with either missiles, depth charges or a heavy machine gun the Lynx is a formidable machine and is more than capable of taking on the best of the world's surface vessels as well as any potential underwater threats.

The Lynx has always been my favourite helicopter. Why? When I first came across it I was led to believe (can't find proof that is; it wasn't the first) that it was, at the time, the only military helicopter that could loop-the-loop, you can strap almost any weapon to it, within reason, and it can carry troops etc.
I also think the early versions were quite "pretty" and looked streamlined (unlike the ugly Apache).

However, I did find this:

The Lynx has the distinction of being the world's first fully aerobatic helicopter. In 1986, a specially modified Lynx set the current Fédération Aéronautique Internationale's official airspeed record for helicopters. This record remains unbroken at 249mph.

A standard modern Lynx will only do about 201mph.

So when I saw one in the shop while looking for a model, I had to have it (even though it's not the prettiest version).

Having spent so long, recently, scratch-building models I am having to re-learn how to follow instructions again.
This is how far I've got, seats and controls in:

I found it interesting that the pilots seat came with those holes and studs to align the back properly. I'm too conditioned to gluing pieces of plasticard together by eye.

Instrument panel up next.

OM turned out great.

Thanks Solar.

Internals coming together:


in other news; I may go quiet at some point this week, I have a new graphics card turning up and will have to give it a try out.

Wow, that's really good.

OK you CHEATED!

How come you did not paint the controls and knobs and buttons?

Excellent work bud, you see you still got it.

Thanks Gits'.

It's not cheating, it came with the kit and I'm building the kit.

I did however, paint the green screen (with that gem effect technique) and the moulded buttons around it, and I added the white "shine" to the blue screen.
I also added buttons to the control sticks that aren't there on the kit (painted on).
I also gave all the dials a dot of gloss varnish each while keeping the rest of the panel matt.

Many of the things I'm painting are not mentioned in the instructions, so taking liberties to bring it to life.

My freehand is nowhere near good enough to match what those transfers can do.

I am getting back into the swing of working on a range of steps and planning/painting/cutting ahead.

Next up, the body is going together... once I've glued the roof and walls on the interior.