Going Down: Beyond the Gates of Antares

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**inmygravenimage**

Bun?

That's a hot cross bun, that is.

Thought about putting up lady buns:

Spoiler:

**Viktor von Domm**

well..it would have been sweet either way

**shasolenzabi**

I tend to wash pills down with water or such. Never liked chewing the things

**Theophony**

inmygravenimage wrote:
Good shoes go to heaven, it's all about the soul...

how right you were about this. Last night at work my new shoes went to heaven. I had finished most of my work by 8pm and was walking the burnished back to our storage room. He burnished is self propelled but has a deadman switch to it on the handles where you grip I to steer it. I had the speed at max velocity, just over my regular walk pace, so a brisk walk, which is ho I usually run it when taking it back to storage or to the next area. My long legs are always tapping/kicking it while proceeding, but his time was special. My shoelace bounced just perfectly to catch a long bolt underneath the burnished and it grabbed hold tight. I was trying to plant that lead leg so I could bring my other leg forward, but h machine was still going and almost yanked me off my feet. As I was it pulled my leg forward and my knee hanged the other direction for a second and I had to hop with m other leg to keep from falling, which caused me to hold he handle tight, and no release the deadman switch which allowed it to keep going

. Well something had to give, luckily it was my shoe. I double knot my laces and the force of the machine pulling ripped the laces through the leather of the shoe on both sides of h shoe and ripped he tie point off of the tongue too.

I'm fine, but there was nothing that could be done for my shoe, and the lace knot couldn't come undone and didn't have a spot to connect to, which meant no support whatsoever. I went to the facility maintenance department and grabbed a roll of duct tape

the miracle fixitdevice and duct taped my shoe to my foot. By he en of the night I was really sore, but the shoe stayed in place. I had to fill out a statement before I left last night, and I got all sorts of calls today about it

o well, its one of those stupid thing that happens.

Tonight I got 3 games of x-wing in at the flgs. I won the first two 100-63 and 100-27, but got crushed on the last on 23-100. Had a great time and felt confident with the game mechanics. I ran a three x-wing list with Luke, Biggs, and Wedge. It's a real competitive list with a lot of synergy. Plus I befuddle my opponents with my movements, I never do what's expected, its why I'm a chess champion(my wife reminds me how dorky that is all the time).

Really excited for he next wave of ships coming for x-wing, they have 2capital ships for the rebels and two imperial aces coming out shortly hen wave five was just announced which has phantom tie fighters and he z95s.

I totally recommend the game to anyone. You can play I right out of the main box with 50points per side, or buy a second starter or more ships for bigger games. 100 points seems common/tournament size, and takes about an hour to play.

**Camkierhi**

I would say you were a lucky boy with the shoe. And please spend some money on some good shoe's. Your feet are very important, even more so since it stops you modelling!!!

X-wing sounds very interesting, I would have to spend weeks building a deathstar board.

Oh by the way, that competition you are not in has been extended slightly, just in case you thought about finishing up!!!!

**dsteingass**

YEah man..seriously, you need to invest in proper shoes. If you can't work because you're foot is broken because you're a tightwad and won't spend money on shoes, then you'll think it's worth the money. And you don't need to spend $100 or buy Nike, go to a specialist shoe store where they measure your feet.

**Theophony**

I haven't missed any work nor will I because of my feet. I might be less than 100% John, but I'm still 30% more effective than anyone else I work with.

These shoes were just starting to get broken in, they were not causing the pains like the previous pair did and I think he problems were just hold overs from the previous ones. I went and got the same type and wore them yesterday without issue, and now I have a spare right shoe

.

X-wing is definitely worth getting into. It is a very balanced game system where you can field almost any style list and your generalship (tactics) will be critical in the game. Maneuvering your ships is critical to the game to make sure you have firing arcs and stay out of firing arcs. You also need to be able to read your opponent and where they are going to set up and move to because if your ships bump you lose critical actions, get stuck where you bumped, and can't shoot the guy your in base to base with.

If your bored, or intrigued the 2013 world championships for x-wing just finished this weekend. Someone posted the YouTube link in the x-wing forums.http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/581706.page I always laughed at the idea of watching a video of a miniature game or Magic:the gathering, but I found these guys amazing to watch, and the game was a nail bitter. Just over an hour long and I watched the whole thing without realizing it.

I think I'm probably going to take a break from modeling for a while. I need to refresh myself, also Saturday was the 1year anniversary of me leaving lowes and I look back at over 100pages of modeling in that time, some good, some just silly(who'd of thunk that

). Somewhere along the lines my creativity left me and I need to get it back before I plunge headlong into the next project.

do not fear, I will continue to read and follow pages, but I think I got caught up in page quantity over page quality

. I plan on making posts time to time and who knows my last break lasted almost a whole 24hours

.

I might just return with a Death Star update.

**Theophony**

Well I've returned

April fools

Just a quick update.

Twins birthday done check
Anniversary done check
Two funerals for friends at church done, sucks, but still check
Kids spring break done check
Wife's spring break done check
All three kids bedrooms rearranged/updated check
First four weeks of statistics class done check
Yard ready for spring done check
Found enthusiasm for new project or completion of old projects...............nope

Came into a Little bit of money for gaming stuff. Not sure how to spend it. I think $200 is going into Star Wars x-wing preorders for ships and a battlemat. Though I'm really tempted to build up a 30k army, but that would mean getting back into GW. Honestly I'm at a loss, it always happens when I have money, never when I'm broke and can think of a hundred different things to buy if I had the funds.

Also with redoing my sons room he decided he didn't want his loft bed anymore. It's black metal bed that's raised up with a desk underneath. I had to disassemble it, but it is now reassembled in the basement with some modifications to it to be a new modeling desk for me. The antique wood desk I've been using just hasn't been great, too deep, too narrow and no legroom for me. The new desk is a foot and a half wider, narrower, and once I do another few "fixes", it will have overhead storage and maybe pegboard behind it as well

.

Lastly I've cut up about twenty sheets of that foam for various projects. Luckily since I have been moved into a different position at work and no longer haul trash, I was able to bribe the new trash guy into keeping an eye out for more.

He's done good

Hopefully next week I will be back into the swing of things or at least get the basement redone.

**Camkierhi**

Dang glad to see you lad.

Nice haul of foam.

New desk sounds interesting.

Spend the money on the ugly biugly tank thingy from GW, you have to be mad to buy it, and they don't come much madder than Theo.

**monkeytroll**

You could use the foam to create a padded/soundproof cell out of the basemant so you can bounce around and scream 'WAAAGH' as loud as you like

**Theophony**

Camkierhi wrote:Dang glad to see you lad.

Nice haul of foam.

New desk sounds interesting.

Spend the money on the ugly biugly tank thingy from GW, you have to be mad to buy it, and they don't come much madder than Theo.

monkeytroll wrote:You could use the foam to create a padded/soundproof cell out of the basemant so you can bounce around and scream 'WAAAGH' as loud as you like

@monkeytroll, you must have missed my earlier post where that was a plan

@cam,

not buying that load of crap if the rules were you automatically win the universe.

So when you have money in hand and miniaturemarket.com a mile from your house, you soon have less money in your hand

They have a retail location with dings and dents. The boxes of mantic figs were $20.00 each. Then I've been wanting a playmat for my Star Wars x-wing figs, its $10.00 cheaper there than my flgs.
$117.xx later and I have 120+ orcs, 20 Orc gore riders, and a battlemat

Here's the desk.

It's got a small shelf built into it on the right side.

I had to jury rig the top (where the bed sits), because I'm too tall sitting in my chair. I can either leave it the way it is, with the top being angled, or drill out some holes o attach that part higher up,which will ruin the frame. I don't really wan to ruin the frame, but it would give me a flat top above my painting station to attach a fluorescent light kit to, and have storage up here as well. Right now how it's setup is good because the back part is 2' tall, so I can get a chunk of pegboard and attach it back there. I could get a larger piece though if I move the top part up.

Well now I have to place another miniaturemarket.com order for preorder Star Wars minis, $200.00 more going out the door

, but that's 1/3 off of retail so I see it as better than ordering later.

**inmygravenimage**

Good to have you back bro.

although Easter would have been more appropriate

**Theophony**

graven, Jesus was a necron, and he's coming back

**inmygravenimage**

As long as He's not a Zombie, we're fine

**Theophony**

inmygravenimage wrote:
As long as He's not a Zombie, we're fine

He'd be one badass zombie. Could a vampire look at him or touch him, you know because they are supposed to be driven off by crosses? One of those mysteries I'll have to ask my pastor about this weekend. He loves nutty questions like this. Guess I'll get the final answer once I die, hopefully he has a sense of humor (I mean he made the platypus so he's got to have a sense of humor right?)

**Camkierhi**

One of the best pieces of advice I was given, "If you own it modify it."

IE. I own a camera, I wanted to fit filters to it, so I superglued a threaded ring on the end ofthe lens. Honestly will the bed ever be used as a bed again? Will you ever really sell it, and if so will it be worth anything? Honestly, probably not, so make it what you need, and don't fret about what might be down the line. If you anything like me, I have a really useful set of nice deep shelves in myshed made from an old set of bunk beds. Several cabinets made from bed slats and older pieces of furniture. I like what youavedone so far, looks brilliant, and a good space for you to work, Just make it yours!

Sorry got carried away.

Nice haul on the models, not sure if you are luck or not being that close to that store, I know I would never have a penny in my pocket being that close. Cant wait to se you horde all together, must be some size now.

**Dr H**

Welcome back Theo. Hopefully you get the drive to do something with all these models you are buying soon.

Nice work on the bed/desk. Could do with some more highlighting though, and maybe a spot colour...

**dsteingass**

You have that natural light in your basement?

**Viktor von Domm**

welcome back matey! i see that april is the month of returns

(double entendre^^)

if it is as cam suggests and this bed will never be a bed no more...then i would cut out with a saw as much as needed to have the bedplatform be usable as shelf space and also to allow you an upright sitting position...it is probably the carziest conversion i have seen...but then i have created some weird ones myself already...so

as for the jesus being an undead issue... well...i was always a bit uneasy with the whole bread from my body thing....if that´doesn´t ring some z´bells...i don´t know what...tho the blood to wine thing screams vampire...

**monkeytroll**

It didn't register when I first looked at it, but now Dave's pointed it out.....yeah, what's going on with the basement/outdoors relationship there

**dsteingass**

It must be the coveted walk-out basement, the envy of all hobbyists.

**monkeytroll**

A goodly sized one at that - what's visible is about half the size of my entire place

**Theophony**

Dave has seen the light

.
Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm doing lunch at work now, but thought I'd check in.

All that is natural light, hence why my photos wind up so bad. It is an old walk out basement with three big widows on the sides and the door is half glass also, so plenty of natural light.

I decide the bed will get a couple holes drilled into it to move the top rack up for storage. Like cam mentioned I won't be using it as a bed again, and not selling it anytime soon, so four holes won't matter. As for bunk beds that's what my gaming table is made from

. Solid oak legs for strength, osb for the top.

I'll try and address more later, Fatman must eat now

**Theophony**

Well mark at dreamforge has broken out the next GW beatstick

Spoiler:

Alpharius wrote:
This is one hell of an update!

Update #127

Apr 2 2014
A very exciting update!
Comment
2 likes

Today I have the great pleasure of sharing with all of you the Keilerkopf Eisenkern APC. This kit is the first DreamForge product to take physical form without ever having been produced in either metal or resin.

This kit was roughed in just shortly before the Kickstarter. The APC lacked a lot of the details now present in the production kit and was very much a work in progress when the backers good faith made this kit a reality. We have taken this kit from a rough concept to a stunning plastic model worthy of the brave troops it carries.

The completion of this kit was no small task, moving from a strictly CAD based environment into a real world model without a 3d print or master meant I needed to put a lot of faith in the Wargames Factory engineering team, I think the end results speak for itself.

The final kit required eight full tools and three partial tools, (not including the crew) far more than we first anticipated but perfection demanded nothing less.

Some of the kit features:

Clear windows that have the greenish tint most commonly found on ballistic glass (we are still playing with the tint color to get it as close as we can).

Working doors, hatches and hood.

A detailed interior and engine compartment.

A full crew compliment, driver, gunner and ten seated Stormtroopers.

A movable defenses turret, mounted to a gantry, it provides a full 360 protection against unwanted guests.

Wheels that roll around the fixed center hub and a linked front set that simulates real world steering.

TPE a soft plastic tires.

What you see in these images are essentially T2, we have some very minor tweaking to do and some texture to add to the non-slip pads on the top deck and inside of the rear egress hatch.

As we draw closer to the conclusion of this Kickstarter, I must thank the backers again for all the understanding you have given while we worked hard to provide you with the best platic sci-fi kits possible.
The Process:

This process is more often a negotiation than “Here are my files, make them”.

The artist provides the models, WGF works on the mold split and sends me back sample files to review and approve, and sometimes I am not happy with the way the model needed to be modified to make it work in hard tooling. I make suggestions and we take another run at it. We split the model up differently or separate a component from the mesh and see if they can get a model to work in hard tooling and still meet my requirements.

Sometimes we cannot, and I need to compromise, sometimes we can, with a simple change it all works out. The negotiation process between the engineers and the client is something that happens with every kit, we can take as many as three runs at a single model before we have exhausted the options.

Just to give you an idea of what it takes to make a kit like the APC; the time and resources required for such a large and complicated kit requires the dedicated effort of a skilled engineering staff many weeks of concentrated effort.The APC’s tool cost at retail would have been roughly 1/3 the total amount raised by the Kickstarter. The sheer number of tools required to complete the entire Kickstarter is staggering, by the time we have completed this project, the currents estimates are that we will have created 90+ tool sets for the 90+ unique sprues. To date, we have created 75 tools, averaging 1.25 tool per week since the Kickstarter closed. That is a very respectable average if not an amazing one when you consider the process and everything that goes into finalizing each kit.

I know that you are pleased with the quality of the kits, I appreciate your trust and investment in DreamForge-Games. We are lucky to have a partner like Wargames Factory to skillfully execute my vision.

What has been done what is remaining:

Items that have made it all the way through tooling-

All the 15mm kits have been completed, these were not simple scale downs, every component needed to be handled and changed in CAD.

15mm Mortis: Complete

15mm Nova Cannon: Complete

15mm Mauler claw right arm: Complete

15mm Mauler claw left arm: Complete

15mm HEL cannon: Complete

15mm Left Vulkan: Complete

APC: Complete

Mold splits for the vast majority of the infantry, are complete but I am in that negotiation phase I spoke of earlier to see if we cannot improve the form fit and appearance of some of these kits.

The Zeus/Loki and Stuka Zu Fuss are in engineering.

The Command Squad is in engineering.

The Black Widows have not yet hit engineering while I fidget with them a bit more to make sure I am happy with the kit. I will complete these and have them to them once they have completed the mold splits of the command squad.

Speaking of the Command Squad, I have a preview of that kit. I have made some changes from the renders shown in the Kickstarter.

The Platoon Commander now sports a frock to make him easily recognizable on the table.

The Platoon SGT. now carries the unit flag for his troops to rally behind.

The Sniper teams have had some design changes to make them more unique and tacti-cool with Thermal/NVG. Note the sniper rifles do not have direct view scopes but a digital camera and a side mount display screen to lock ant track targets.

The Combat Medic shown with his MULE is in full dash to his wounded compatriots. The legs on the medic MULE will be one piece for easy assembly and have a base with holes so that we can have it supported on two legs at full gallop

The Coms officer has remained mostly unchanged but I had to make change to his helmet antenna as there would have been issues with direction of pull. The Coms officer will also include a MULE to aid in transport of his coms gear

The Forward Observer team remains unchanged from what you saw during the Kickstarter. The FO team will also include a MULE to allow them to pack up the designator and coms relay and remain mobile units on the tabletop.

Thank you again!

Mark-

feth

Oh and I did some drilling in the 1:1 scale today, long with a Lowes trip. Here's the results.

Hard to see in the picture, but the bed top is metal bars that I can cuff myself to when I need to get work done

. I stupidly got the wrong pack of peg hooks as I got the thicker pegboard for the back of the desk, I will stop on my way to work tonight to fix that. I will need to stop by harbor freight and get. Couple more magnetic tool strips to mount on here as well. I currently have one attached to a wall. Not sure about getting another bamboo riser for paint, I have space for 2-3 more, but I need to purge some pots and I like the space under the shelf for my drill and other stuff. The thing on the shel is my ultrasonic cleaner which has some Munda figures still in it from a year ago

. The other two containers on the shelf are happy pills

, I mean candy containers which look like nice containers for static grass and ballast. Not cheap, but they are delicious. I buy them for the wife and get bonus points. Lets hope she never finds out I'm actually buying them for the containers

Tomorrow I have homework, a test and basement reorganizing to do. Hopefully next week my mojo will be ready to rock.

**monkeytroll**

So that's what a tidy desk looks like....hmmm.

**Theophony**

You'll never see it that clean again

.

**Viktor von Domm**

that sounds as if you take your desk as a hostage...

**Camkierhi**

Nice work on the desk. Now to fill it with plasticrack.

**dsteingass**

I'm glad to see that you've used my Bamboo spice rack idea

Very Nice paint bench! Now build a SEPARATE bench for modeling, trust me.

**Theophony**

@dave, I've got two metal "bookcases" that are adjustable they are 14"x36" and 54" tall, however they can be assembled half height so that will probably become extra workbench/storage next to my desk. I'm also thinking about some plastic storage drawers, but need to get the shelves done first and my gaming table moved so the desk can get to it's permanent home.
@cam, no worries there, once I get rid of my other desk I'll have plenty of stuff for the top of this.
@vik, it's only fair to hold it hostage as it keeps my hobby mojo hostage all the time.

Returned the wrong pegboard stuff last night,

lowes doesn't have the right diameter ones for the pegboard they carry. I have some in storage somewhere and will just need to locate them. I did pick up some spray primer......no really I'm going to use primer for a change....really.

Worn out today, gonna try and get some much deserved sleep. Also a ton of school stuff to deal with, so probably no hobby updates today.