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I wanted the sprue to look like external rigging or other surface texture. I was going to add blocking here and there (which I started with some circuit board bits), but otherwise, I'll have to think about disguising it. I had been worried more about the inside being too bland, but I think I can panel that up a bit and add some lines to it to just break it up a bit. I've got a lot of old phone wire, maybe I can use that to add lines of cabling.


Hmmm.

So here's a question:

How do you guys do it? I check in (way too) often to follow folks like Vik, Wazzoo2000, hk1x1, Klaus, not Santa, Develain, and Luciusletroll (among many others). I'm always amazed at the work they do, but I don't know how they do it. I get home from work (and granted I work 12 hrs/day) and most of the time I don't want to do anything. I get bit every once in a while where I work steady for a week, but then I peeter out and loose interest. I haven't painted in months.

I'm good at making lists of what I want to do, but I'm terrible at getting any of it done (I don't know that I've "finished" anything). This all sounds more frustrated than I really am, but I am curious about how to get that fire lit. Once it's lit, how do you keep it lit?

Maybe I'm just lazy.

Some of us don't have jobs to go to and so may seem to be working very quickly, whereas I...(I mean those people... ) are just doing little bits, just as slowly as everyone else, but have much more time in the day...

Having worked in pubs and done 12 hour shifts (in one, and as split-shifts), I know that at the end of one of those days you just want to have a sit down and "be entertained" before bed (rather than lift a finger to make your own entertainment). So I feel your pain.

The only advice I think I can give is to break down the large jobs (finishing a model) into much smaller jobs, like painting all the red bits, and not worrying about the whole model and how it's not getting finished. Done like that, you have many small "victories" and don't get stuck thinking that you're not making progress on the whole model, which can lead to a lack of motivation.

I think there is something to that: Not finishing things, not being able to cross projects or ideas off the list does make it more daunting. Especially since I seem to always have more ideas to add to the list.

Well, I had a game last weekend and have been a bit more enthusiastic/busy this week. Plus, I had a bit of inspiration and so I started a new project and am pretty jazzed about it.

I've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. Things are looking good. I've got a game in a couple of weeks and will unveil after that. All in all, I'll have a ton to show you all.

A couple of WEEKS! Show us now, show us now!

Good to know you have the modelling back on track.

Hey Doc. It feels great. I've been creative and productive. I'm out of the rut.

I'll try to find a few things I can post without giving things away. Needless to say, I'm really excited and really can't wait to start posting things to get some feedback.

ach...ye ol´ tease you!

I think (hope) you'll all agree it was worth it.

Part of the problem I have now, is that this week I've diversified again as a supply drop came in. I'm hoping to finish the Land Raider and get some more work done on the Dakka Jets and the Eldar ADL, Landing Platform, and Bastion - and the quad/icarus too. On top of all of that is my main project (Project X) and maybe the start of a second (Project Y) since I'm making good progress on "X".

How's that for a tease!

So, I've been jumping from project to project the past few weeks. Some are (as I mentioned) under lock and key until the game the weekend after next, others are known and so I can work on them. Basically, I gave up and just unboxed everything to see what I had and where I was with everything as a whole. It was like setting up a triage: these Fire Dragons and this Wave Serpent is good, these War Walkers need a little work, these guys need more work, this War Walker is a disaster, etc. That made a huge list of to dos, but helped me prioritize a bit, which helped.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to get something done. The Land Raider is just sitting there staring at me and I wanted to get it off my plate. So I've been working on it on the side, but consistently all week. Since you've all been patient with my teasing, I thought I'd at least share this and get your (more experienced) thoughts on it's progression.






I got a leather punch the other day and I love it. The rivets are all 2mm - I would have prefered 1mm, but I think it looks a ton more finished. I also finished the base of the flag a touch (and broke the anvil off the top of the flagpole, but I'll glue that back shortly). I've got to do the back doors yet and rivet the back, but I feel like I'm close. Although, tbh, I doubt I'll ever feel like it's "done".

As always, let me know what you think!

OOOhhhh.... i do like what i see! Looks really cool mate!

And i totally hear ya about not having enough hours in the day to work and make models....

Look forward to seeing more of your work!

ps..... i just looked through your blog (should really have done that first)..... some REALLY impressive stuff buddy!

Progressing very nicely, Mars. Good work.

It's great hearing from you Magos! (Thanks for the kind words)

I've actually been lurking on your weathering thread. I love it and really want to do the same effect to some of the terrain pieces I've been working on (the crashed freighter and the storage tank tower). Did you post a tutorial at all?

 mars2024 wrote:
It's great hearing from you Magos! (Thanks for the kind words)

I've actually been lurking on your weathering thread. I love it and really want to do the same effect to some of the terrain pieces I've been working on (the crashed freighter and the storage tank tower). Did you post a tutorial at all?

Hey mate! Thanks very much! I am pretty sure if you check back a couple of pages on my blog there is a little list of the steps i take to get the effect.... have a look and if you have any other queries just drop me a message and i will try and help you out if i can!

Cheers mate! Keep up the great work!

So I'm almost ready to unveil the top secret project, but in the meantime, I just thought I'd share a little bit of the other work I've gotten done in the past week(s). It's not much, but for the amount of time I've been able to put into things, I'm pretty happy.

First the Land Raider.





And then the wrecked freighter. I'll do the other side tonight.





I've also started to get paint on the tanker tower. I'll try to post some of that tomorrow as well.

C&C always welcome.

I think for most imperial stuff 2mm rivets are a good choice... I use that size on all my stuff and it works for me, the primed LR looks amazing and the freighter is so convincingly weathered!

and hopefully we´ll get to see `x` and `y` soon^^

Next week...

I don't want to spoil the game on Saturday. I love bringing out something new and unexpected to throw off my friend's. Last time was the LR and that was great!

The weathering is a lot of fun actually. I'm not sure it's the best idea, but I like that the whole thing smells like coffee now. I just need to find a way to keep it from flaking off.

Mmmmm! Coffee scented wrecks - they're the best kind

A layer (or two) of varnish should seal it in just fine.

Cool, that's what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure as I've not sealed any of my models yet and so haven't really tried it.

Thanks!

So a quick update on the new-ish terrain. I'll post some table pics after the game this weekend. I've got one more night to work on stuff and I've got quite a bit of painting to do tonight. Very exciting (I just hope that I can keep the momentum going).

Anyway, here is the wrecked freighter. I'm going to seal it tonight as well (although I'd like to put a little banner with a name on it, maybe "Cadian Hope" or something (suggestions/ideas?).



And here is the storage tanker tower thing. I've only really started painting it, but you can kind of see what I've got in mind. I'll rust the bejesus out of it too (like the freighter), but that will have to be later.



Thanks again for checking in. C&C is always welcome.

So here's my big project. My Crimson Hunter. I played a game this past weekend and really wanted to surprise my friends as I knew they would be bringing flyers and they knew I didn't have any. It worked about as well as I had heard/expected. I came on the board, got glanced by intercept (after jinking), managed to blow up the flyer he had on the board and then I got blown up the next turn by another flyer. I don't know that it was worth it, but I was really excited to build it and even if I never fly it again, I really like it. Anyway, here's the progression of about a week and a half to two weeks of work.

Initial pieces with the reference I was trying to match:


A quick dry assembly:



A bit further along:



And with some paint:






So it might not be worth all the build up, after all, but I like it a lot.

Nice concept, looks great, like it.

Great stuff! I have been thinking of converting some plain Nobz to MANZ for a while, and your design concept looks great. Love the bikers too! Please keep scratch building and posting pics.

Ooh pretty! I like that a lot, looks very cool. Nice job.

VERY cool flyer mate! The style and look of it are great!

And.... coffee scented models you say..... I know the scent well!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. New project starts tonight (or soon anyway).

So I finally find you and WOW, awesome.

Subbed.

So I've changed gears a little bit over the past couple of weeks. I've got a ton of work to do for40k, but I really wanted to convert the YT-1300 for x-wing. I started with the existing YT-1300 and after making a couple of attempts at a plastic card version, I decided to try a press-mold. I'll go back to the plastic card, now that I have a better sense of the ship, but I think the copy turned out well. I was especially anxious to get it to paint.

I'm looking forward to your thoughts.


This was my reference:


And here's what I started with:


And here's where I ended up:


I may do a bit more painting (the insides of the engines, for example, but otherwise I think it turned out nicely.

I got in a game last night and ran Chewie and Lando, because I ~really~ wanted to. It wasn't a good list and I got beat pretty good, but it was great having both the freighters out there.