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That cat makes that piece.

Really like and am getting a very Daleky vibe from it, which van only be a good thing.

I think he is drinking it...? Do you all remember the scene in dune were the harconians milk the cat? Thats gotta be where he got the idea.

https://www.youtube.com/results?client=firefox&hs=ajW&rls=com.yahoo:en-USfficial&q=cat%20dune%20milking&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.50952593,d.ZGU,pv.xjs.s.en_US.5T6bx5-0vDE.O&biw=1024&bih=608&um=1&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&gl=GB&sa=N&tab=i1

 weetyskemian44 wrote:
Cheers! Its been fun.

There is definitely a future in this - if I get fed up with warhammer I could even scale it up and make dolls house stuff - there's money in that. I just love constructing miniature worlds. You know what I mean or you wouldn't all be here! wouldn't it just be great to quit my stupid job and make stuff for a living.

I won't quit the day job just yet though...

This. I would love to be able to just make stuff, build models, and sculpt for a living as well...I am slowly acquiring gear to start some small scale resin casting. To begin with, it will just be for making copies of architectural, structural and detail elements for my scenery projects, and to duplicate custom bases, etc. But eventually I may get brave and start selling original terrain pieces and the like. Having a wife and 3 kids on a single income though (well, I already have 2 jobs)...I'd really have to be making massive profits and pumping out loads of product to even come close to replacing my main source of income...and I wouldn't have the time it takes to keep up with that on my own...then were talking about hiring help and it all just gets to be a convoluted mess. Not to mention having to figure out health insurance, etc. Maybe I should move to England...

Back on topic though, I really enjoy seeing some of these old school Citadel and Grenadier models get a modern paint job. You really do do them justice.

Looking forward to seeing more!

I'm lucky I don't have all those expenses. I think I will keep the boring day job and just start doing it part time.

Health insurance sounds like a massive drag - It is great to have a national health service, don't let any politician tell you otherwise.

Maybe you can shift into it more when your kids are older?

I'm torn because I was born in England, which makes me (and also my three children) British citizens. So we could move over (assuming I could get a high enough paying job to support my family of 5) and would be fully covered under the National Health Service.

But, I served 4 years in the U.S. Marines and injured my back while I was in the service. Because I was a California resident when I served (and still am today), as a disabled veteran, all of my children can attend any of the California State Universities (assuming they applied and were accepted of course) tuition free.

So free health care for my entire family, or free higher education for my children (as I'm not certain they can claim that benefit if we are no longer California residents)...

What would you do in my position?

Edit: sorry for derailing your P&M thread, you don't have to answer that. This week we're doing annual open enrollment for our companies' health benefits...and our premiums went up again this year, while coverage went down substantially. I'm supposed to feel lucky I have the crappy health benefits, and in a way I do...there are millions of uninsured and/or under-insured people in the US. I guess its all just been weighing on my mind.

On a lighter and more on-topic note, I selfishly request that you paint more of those lovely Necromunda figures.

Yeah I'm not going to answer that. That's the original hard question right there. Education vs health. I hope it works out for you.

But I would probably stay where you are. It wouldn't surprise me if the government sold the NHS so they could give more tax breaks to millionaires. .

Ok thats enough bitterness for one post.

I picked up a brace of copplestone urban war minis the other day and I have been industriously sawing off their bases with my jewellery saw - got through 3 and then broke my last blade. Damn I've had that saw since 2006 and this is the first time I've had to buy more blades - I can't even remember what tooth size I use. About 0.5mm I think.

I think the copplestone bases are silly because the models are so unstable - one little nudge and over they go. So off with their bases.

Pics later - gotta go work and sell shoddy goods.

There is a reason professional jewelry supply companies sell jeweler's saw blades by the gross.

Yeah I think I got through 60 of them and I don't use it much.

I find the X-fine blades are too fine and brittle for plastic work. The med toothed ones last longer, but too much tension or twisting mid-cut can snap them pretty easily.

Fantastic stuff, that dungeon and monsters makes me want to start up Advanced Heroquest!

....shame i dont have any friends lol!

Ditto - well no friends who paint miniatures anyway. They mostly like dressing up and getting drunk, which shouldn't be knocked of course.

Dstein, Yeah thats how they get broke - Also they heat up a lot if you are trying to cut 6 copplestone figures off their bases and I don't think that helps

Weets, if you want to cut them off flush at the bottom of the feet (and don't care about the molded bases) try using snips or clippers, hacking away around the feet. Then you'll have platform shoes you can snip/sand down where you want them.

Snips or clippers. Hmmm. Nope haven't anything heavy duty enough. Time to order some new saw blades - its neater that way.

The promised pics - I didn't get these direct from copplestone - they were second hand and might not have been what I would have chosen from the copplestone range if I'd had the choice - I do love the guy with the ripped suit and briefcase and also the biker dude. At 99p each they were a steal.

Some tidy looking models, if I find the friends to play heroquest we may have to have a game of Necromunda now afterwards!!! haha.

 dsteingass wrote:
Weets, if you want to cut them off flush at the bottom of the feet (and don't care about the molded bases) try using snips or clippers, hacking away around the feet. Then you'll have platform shoes you can snip/sand down where you want them.

Weets, Dave's got it here. Get yourself a pair of jewelers' snips, you want ones that come to a flat edge on one side (wire cutters usually have an angle on both sides). Also, the harder the steel the better, as they will last longer and can be used for nice clean cuts on brass rod, etc (for empty shell casings, weapon shaft replacements, pinning joints, etc). The ones GW sells are worthless for anything but plastic, by the way. These will give you a little more control than the saw blade (plus you dont have to pinch the model in a vise and risk squishing/marring any details. Cut away chunks around the feet, then clip off the bottom bits to give the feet/shoes the desired height, clean up with needle files, and voila!



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Edit: Love the guy with the pink glasses! hes a great sculpt.

Love it, love it, love it! The dungeon scene and tiles are really nice, you did a great job. The creepy dwarf sucking the life out of that diseased cat is brilliant, a nice bit of NMM. The Copplestone stuff is coming along nicely too, very characterful miniatures which is where you excel in my opinion.

Do tell us what blades you buy and how they are, I broke the last in my first set recently too and I really want something better next time. I can be pretty delicate but these things snapped when I looked at them wrong. The biggest issue was they'd get stuck when the metal inevitably closed in behind them. No good for dividing larger pieces. Maybe a range of sizes would be good?

Also, it's interesting how many people seem to be on the same boat. I too would love to make a business out of producing little characterful pieces for creating miniature worlds and similarly I have no friends interested in miniatures. I've actually been getting the impression recently that the hobby is dying off in the UK while it's growing massively in the US...

Whoops, /ramble. Keep at it!

Opportunity for an export market...

The last lot of blades were from Cookson Gold, suppliers of jewellers tools and materials.

Heres what I've been up to.

I love the big bearded dude!

Really nice work. The only thing I could criticise is that they could use some spark of colour to break them up. But otherwise brilliant stuff.

Nice work. Liking the glasses/shades and the tattoo.

Big, bearded biker boy be badass!

Glad you like him - really great model. I like copplestone castings they are fun, and look good for the price.

This next model is an odd one, in the sense that it was hard to make it look good. All the dark elves citadel did in the 80s were a bit skewed and I think this is one of the least wonky but still there is just something a bit squashed about the model.

But I work with what I'm given and I did manage to drag him out of the reject bin a little.



Not sure whats next it depends what I make bases for. Its a toss up between more copplestone or more squashed looking dark elves(actually one of them is quite cool looking and is holding a severed head!). And I need to look into gravens river trolls.

Finally I should add that I am open to doing commissions if anyone's interested as I have a surfeit of spare time and
I'm running out of miniatures. I will consider anything really but may turn stuff down if its very big (I have no airbrush), and obviously prices will be low while I find my feet. I would be feverishly painting anyway regardless of pay. Any tips on where to advertise?

Copplestones look great, really atmospheric... I do like a Copplestone mini, I have a few of his Gangsters and Archaeologists in my 'to be painted' queue.

And as for that creepy Scrunt fella, excellent work on possibly one of the weirdest minis I've ever seen (the weirdest though are the Orc and Ogre Bloodbowl cheerleaders )

Aye up miss skemian.. not bin around these these parts for a while , great to see your fantasy stuff , the post apoc guys glasses are just brilliant btw , you are deffo the best shades painter in the world ;-)

Nice to see you moving into fantasy terrain as well , that table gives of a classic heroquest vibe for sure.

Nice work on the Elf although I see what you mean about the miniature being a bit off. I bet he'd love a Baby Ruth.

Get on with the 4chan! Also, nice pointy-ear

Baby.... Ruth.

He seems to have a hair-lip if you look close. He is a dark elf after all so a bit of mutation is to be expected.

Looks like I have my first commission already. Servitors. More info as it comes.

I've been looking at ifalna's website and absorbing the ins and outs of commission painting. I want to try and be as dedicated and skilled as she has been, so please make criticisms and suggestions.

Its hard to rate my work. I know I have a different style from others and I generally paint much older models so direct comparisons are hard. I think commission painting is the ultimate test of versatility because you are painting things you wouldn't normally paint..

Weets, do you want some recent stuff just to build up portfolio? I can happily send you a couple of sprues of SM or something?