It was ages ago...

... but still there's some visitors coming here. So I thought I would tell anyone dropping by and reading the posts from the beginning that stuff changed. I stopped the 40K (Games Workshops public relations finally got to me too) and that left room for the military modelling to grow. So much that I now run my own shop over at http://www.mamoco.se/

At the time of writing it's just out, and only for customers in Sweden. But I hope to be able to cater to the entire Europan Union in a few months. So if you're looking for airbrushes (Harder & Steenbeck and Sparmax for the moment), paints (I stock both Vallejo and Tamiya, Humbrol is on the way) or scale models, head on over to www.mamoco.se to have a look.

Best regards,
PX

How do GW come up with all these cool names?

Among all the WoC release chatter on Dakka this little gem turned up. Couldnt help but laugh out loud and now I have to write this post and peer between coffee stains on my monitor... Sucks to be me. But at least I'm happy!

Air Necronia, flight WIP942…

… to assimilation-land. This is captain 00110001 and flight engineer 00110010 welcoming you aboard. Have a nice flight and vaporize the living. Thank you.

Oh teh OSL!

A bit of a close up this time. I hope some of you are jumping with joy ;) Airbrushed with the Neo, so it seems it can handle pretty small detail. Still not used to the trigger, it's a bit more "jumpy" compared to the H&S Infinity.

Quick Review: Neo/Iwata CN airbrush

One of the major points I try to tell people when the "I wanna airbrush, what airbrush should I get?"-question pops up is that the cheap ones you see for €50 seldom is a good choice since you run the risk of getting a lemon. And once you bend a needle or loose a seal you have to get a new one instead of just replacing a part. (Yes, I know there are some knockoffs that have their lineage mapped. But meh)

The problem is that you then have to get yourself a €90-150 airbrush just to have warranty and ready access to replacement parts. Until a couple of months ago when the Neo (let's just call it Neo from now on even though it's an Neo for Iwata) arrived on the scene.

Built in Korea apparently, but with Iwata specs, which kinda makes it a less quality controlled Iwata.

Now, I'm a Harder & Steeenbeeekk user. So I'm not really up to spec with how Iwata airbrushes work. But I needed another airbrush for spraying on primer, varnishes and general basecoating. The 0.15 nozzle on the Infinity just doesn't let through enough paint and Im too lazy to change needle every now and then. Perfect excuse for getting myself a Neo!

THE SPECS
Built in Korea or whatever. 0.35mm nozzle (more on that later), exchangeable cups on the CN version. Duble action. Read more over at Iwata/Medea.

THE BRUSH

The Neo really screams "I'm a budget airbrush!" when you see the packaging. No fancy (fake) brushed aluminium presentation case. It even has a hole for a hanger!

In the box there is a small paint cup and a tool for removing the nozzle.

Out of the packaging it's, to my surprise, looking just like any other airbrush out there. So let's take it apart!

If you look carefully you can see my ugly mug on the paint cup lid! I opted not to remove the nozzle since it needed a tool (included) and other reviews said that it was fitted in the workshop and shouldn't be removed unless you really need to. Knowing me I would break it if I tried, so I left it alone.

One thing that I really liked was that the paint cups have their o-rings on the cups instead of on the airbrush body, like the H&S. This means that there will be less gunk to clean out of the o-rings, and hopefully less replacing of o-rings that have gone bad.

After re-assembling the airbrush I sprayed some cleaner through it and loaded it up with some VMA Black Primer. I wont show you the results, but the 0.35mm nozzle produces about the same width lines as the 0.2mm nozzle on my H&S Infinity. The 0.15mm nozzle on my Infinity makes thinner lines (of course) but not that much thinner. Which kinda makes the Neo perfect for any beginner out there. It should be able to handle everything but the smallest of small details.

I'll get back to the Neo in a week or two when I have put it through it's paces. Since I have a bunch of Necron flyers to paint I guess that will be the real test for the Neo. :)

WIP: Immortals

Working in "bulk" like I do with the necrons sure eats up space in your working area. There is absolutely no way to set up the photo equipment properly. These were put on top of the spray booth with a makeshift light setup (that's why they're a bit yellow). I even had to crouch like Quasimodo to be able to see what my camera was aimed at. The stuff I do for you in order to show some WIP photos, eh?

Same technique as on the warriors. Zenithal metallics and all that jazz. Just finished painting the basecoat on their guns and the white stripes [att: pop culture reference] on their heads. Some more highlights and detailing to do before the oil washe(s).

Well that's it. Back to getting metal flakes all over my precious brushes!

Necron metal band...

If there only was a way to have these on the board...

Some 'crons...

Making bases is boring. Really boring. I tried some fancy ones from Taban Miniatures first. But they looked a bit too fancy. The green gauss thingie steals enough focus as it is. So I had to resort to making bland bases. Cork plates, pigments and vigorous drybrushing really saved the day.

Now there's just 20 more warriors to base. :D

Games Workshop needs to fire their "designers"

From the latest worthless "teaser" they love to put out these days. First it was the cover of Blood Reaver and now it's Rebirth.

Stuff like letter spacing and adjusting kerning (the letter spacing) is covered in the first class of practical typography. I guess that's why it irks me so much. Making newbie mistakes like this is like waving the "I don't know jack"-flag around. Not only did they use a crappy version of Jenson, but also violated all fundamental rules of typography. Shows how they really care about making a perfect product. -.-

Thats enough of beard rage for today. Gotta paint some necrons...

A crowded paint station...

They said they came in peace. Bringing gifts and stuff. At least that's what I think they said. "010011010110000101110100001000000101011101100001011100100110010000100000011001010110000101110100011100110010000001100010011000010110001001101001011001010111001100100001" is kinda hard to understand.

Which reminds me of a cool short story Stephen King wrote about a dudes army men coming alive. It was my favorite when I was a young teen discovering the joy of horror.

The Warriors are painted pretty standard. Black primer, VMA Dark Metal, Gun & Steel in a progressive zenithal style. Guns are getting more or less black and right now I'm debating wether to do them with red rods/glow or the standard green. Green is more 60s sci-fi, but red is more Terminator/80's LED... Both are themes I love so I have a hard time deciding. Perhaps I should have thought this out before starting to paint them. But meh. Planning is for mortals.

Adventures in Oil: Einstein WIP #2

Found some time inbetween x-mas stuff (for me, assembling Necrons) to paint some more on Einstein. I think I'm done with the basic skin color. At least it feels like this is a good base for adding some discoloration like pinkish lips and some blue to the eye-sockets.

One fun thing about oils is that they kinda behave different from acrylics. Below is a shot of the colors I used for shade and highlight and they are way different than how they acted on the figure. I guess the blue (Winsor Blue (Green)) and yellow (Chrome Yellow Hue) are way stronger than the Yellow Ochre I mix them with. So when blending it turns more green than brown-green.

Start color is #3 but then I realized I wanted more contrast so I upped the highlights a little since the shadow would turn out more or less 100% black if I went down that route.

Anyways. I have to assemble a ton of necrons. See you on the other side of X-mas!

Merry x-mas'es

The best thing about christmas is that noone looks funny at you when you walk around town with bags filled to the brim with stuff. I still feel a bit shameful though... but I guess that has to do with me letting the waagh down for a synthesized "waaargble?!"

The best thing is that you can buy all the gifts for yourself... Merry X-mas & happy new year. :D

It's the Dork Angels -.-

Seroiusly Games Workshop? Please fire the designers you hired when Mattel downsized. I get the "looking like a castle in the sky" idea. But the execution is so bad I want to poke my eyes out.

But then again, I'm glad they look like crap since it gives me no incentive to invest in other models/armies and will happily paint my orks and space austrians.

More pics over at Dakkadakka Millest Mediocre Meanderings

Adventures in oil / Einstein WIP

I don't know what to say. Painting with oil feels like painting with that paint you got at kindergarten and then proceeded to eat and/or use your entire body to paint with. Finger paint?

It's a lot of put paint on & blend. More paint & blend. Blend the blending and then blend some more.

I think I like it though... Picture is after the first round of highlight & shadow.

Quick review, Gobleon by Ammon

Since I buy a lot of stuff so the shelves in my cupboard don't feel lonely I thought that perhaps it would be nice to do some short reviews of what I get before it gets put away in wait for that year when I have 110% free time to paint.

So without further ado...


GOBLEON by AMMON MINIATURES

This is perhaps one of the funniest goblin miniatures out there. The mini really captures what I think of a goblin/gretchin (if you're a 40K fan). In short, it screams delusions of grandeur with a little touch of Don Quixote and a big scoop of naïveté.

The packaging is without any grandeur at all. To be expected of a small sculpter/caster. The parts are packed in a zip-lock within a larger zip-lock with a printout of the painted mini.

The parts themself are crisp and clean. There are some flash to remove, and of course you have to remove some of them from the sprues. But there are no Forgeworld style gates to remove or any gates attached to parts that will likely break unless you try to cut the resin with soothing words and nothing else. 

Dryfitting all the parts showed that there were no significant gaps and everything will probably go together without much filling. There were no dead areas – commonly found on GW/Citadel miniatures – on the mini so there will be no time spent figuring out what is what. Just pure joy of painting!

So if you're itching for a small project to build & paint. I'd say this is the one. It's a perfect weekend project. No big building diagrams (or lack of them) and a mini that's made to be painted.

I bought mine from Figone, Jeremie is a pleasure to deal with. Although with a tight schedule so don't expect one day turnaround on your order. It's worth the wait considering that you're supporting an indie manufacturer / sculptor.

Happy painting! 

Taking the plunge!

Ever since I've started building and painting military scale models I've had a growing love affair with using oil paint. Creating smooth transitions between colour is made way easier due to the long open time. "This must be really useful on miniatures?!" I thought, but didn't really think much of it. Especially since I really didn't know at what end to start painting with oil colours.

Then I got my hands on "Building and Painting Scale Figures". An old book that really only talks about painting miniatures with oil paints. What selection of colors to use, how you plan and perhaps everything you will ever need to know about the fundamentals of painting a miniature.

It's a little dated. From the style of writing I think it came out just before the acrylic explosion (that's a colorful expression!). Acrylics are way handier to paint with most of the time. But if you're starting up, or is an old beard like me, it's worth a read. If not just to brush up on your skills.

Anyhow. I bought a bunch of oil colours (boy are they expensive or what?) specifically limiting my palette so I would learn how to mix colours properly. I'm usually one of those that buys the Mega Paint Set from Games Workshop in order to never have to mix paints. Or that's the idea, I still find myself mixing paints so why not do it right from the start? :)

The unfortunate victim is Einstein. The amazing ork bust sculpted by Allan Carrasco. The orks I grew up with were the ones drawn by Paul Bonner, and Einstein really captures that style. A little more human and a little less comical relief. You can really see the cunning plan he's hatching in the eyes.

So... expect a messy update on my adventures in oil in a couple of days! And if you haven't heard from me I'm probably just trying to get paint out of my hair or off the cats...

Dicerings!!!

This Kickstarter thing... I'm waiting for the backlash when some high profile goes bust. But until then I'm happily parting with my money for cool stuff I didn't know I could live without. This time it's the DiceRings.

Not only will my OCD be less severe, I can also make that critical charge-roll WHEREVER I WANT! On the bus? Need to declare a Waaagh! and charge? No worries! Having a shower when low morale strikes? On the left hand you have a 2r6... roll away! Lost combat with girlfriend? Need to see if she sweeps you? Since you are a good boyfriend you've bought her a r6 as well... Just roll and see if she destroys you or not. (Be a gentleman, let her sweep you and admit defeat!)

So, you see, this is a Kickstarter you need to take part in.

SM Open - Day 2

So... the defeats are finally over. I ended up losing both my games on day two and are now officially the worst 40K player (of the SM Open). I don't fret though. I learned a lot during these two days, and my opponents were real great winners and made me have a good time while I removed buckets of orks from the table.

One of the top moments in my 40K "career" was the game against the Imperial Guard at game three the first day. We both had no intentions to win, lots of laughs was had and it was an -extremely- close game.

LESSONS LEARNED

Lootas need defense lines. The amount of fire they attracted was at some times hilarious. 

Battlewagons have extremely huge sides so that AV14 in the front dont matter that much.

Deffrollas... not that awesome but still awesome.

Feel no pain cybork body ork nobs are... silly fun! :D

And enough with that, onto the pictures!

What I had left on the table at game 1, turn 3... 

"OK men! Re-roll your re-rolls and let's finish this!"

Close game that ended up 12-8 to the Chaos Daemons

Some non-beardy-dude from the south!

Day 1, game 2 vs. Ultra-Vulcan-Marines (and some IG)

It's like the Vendetta is made to get a sharks mouth. It sure eats my troops like a great white.

Soundly beaten by this awesome eybrow bro-dude!

Day 1, game 3. Imperial Guard gunline. 

"Don't give up on me now son!"

The green tide!

The red tide!

First tourney in 20 years and this is what I get! CHEESE! :D

Getting ready to penetrate the rectal armour of my orks!

Jesper, winner of the SM Open!

Rikard, the official swedish champion of 40K!

SM Open - Day 1

Completely unrelated picture apart from Orcs and Die.

So I got lured into playing in the open section of the Swedish Championship, a two day event in Stockholm... The first day was a blast. Really a blast (eheheh-heheh). Even though I got seriously creamed. :D

I brought a simple list consisting of three battlewagons, nobs, two 20 man mobs of ork boyz and some assorted odds and ends. What might have been a mighty force in 5th (lol I dunno) is a mess in 6th. At least when you end up against Grey Knights and other assorted stuff and you DO NOT have an Aegis Defense line to hide behind. My lootas has gotten so shot up today it's not even funny. Or well, it is/was funny in a dark humour kind of way.

Anyhow, three games got played today. The first against Grey Knights ended up with me getting tabled in turn 4. Second game against Space Marines with Imperial Guard allies ended up with me getting tabled in turn 5. Third game, against a pure Imperial Guard force ended up with a really really close game with me losing by just one single point.

But it could have been worse, I could have played Chaos Demons. Apparently they kick serious butt now. At least according to the assorted cries I've heard from the tables where people played against them... :)

I may suck, but I had a ton of fun. Pictures and more details tomorrow if I'm not too exhausted! :)

It was the last night on earth!

I took the car, and a friend and his dog, over to a friends place this weekend and brought my copy of Last Night on Earth for some zombie action. It sure didn't help that all three of us are zombie afficionados. We got one game in, and lots and lots of talking about The Talking Dead, fast zombies vs. running zombies, the awful adaptation of World War Z and zombies in general.

This was my first game of Last Night on Earth and even though I got brutally murdered by the survivors (I was controlling the zombies) it was a blast! I'm a sucker for the old school zombie movies and I think this game really captured the spirit of those movies I was brought up with.

I would actually have won the game if it werent for Sally, the high school sweetheart, finding a chainsaw in turn 10 of 15. She then proceeded to run around the board chasing my poor zombies. :( Very cinematic, very fun, very zombie.

The next day I took my orks over to Uppsala for some 40K action. Prepping the battle report at the moment. :)

Maelstrom Games. THE END!

OFFICIAL NOTICE 

Maelstrom Games Ltd. has ceased trading and will enter liquidation at some point over the next few months. 

A creditor of Maelstrom Games Ltd., Wayland Games Ltd., issued a Statutory Demand under section 123(1)(a) or 221(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act, 1986 on the 17th of October, 2012 for �99,773.61 plus costs of issuing and serving the demand. 

This debt was purchased from Simple Miniature Games by Wayland Games Ltd on the 1st of October, 2012 and payment of this debt was demanded in full by Wayland Games after seven days had elapsed. Unfortunately, Maelstrom Games Ltd. could not pay Wayland Games Ltd. this debt in full within those seven days. 

Previous to the debt purchase, Maelstrom Games Ltd. was servicing the debt owed to Simple Miniature Games at the rate of �500 per working day, claimed by the creditor when convenient for him by charging a credit card owned by Maelstrom Games Ltd., which had been occurring since mid-June and continued to late September, the last payment being taken on the 25th. Maelstrom Games Ltd. did not cancel these payments and were not aware that this debt was being transferred. 

Maelstrom Games Ltd. offered to pay the debt purchased by Wayland Games Ltd. in the same manner as it had paid Simple Miniature Games, but this was not taken up by Wayland Games Ltd. 

Maelstrom Games Ltd. can only apologise to those customers whose orders have not been fulfilled as it is now impossible for Maelstrom Games Ltd. to fulfil them, excepting those for Mierce Miniatures products (fulfilled by Mierce Miniatures in November) and Battlefront Miniatures products (fulfilled by Maelstrom Games in partnership with Battlefront Miniatures and Maunsfeld Gaming in November), all of which will be sent by Maelstrom Games Ltd. Other customer orders for certain ranges may be fulfilled in the future and any customers whose orders can be fulfilled will be contacted by Maelstrom Games in due course. 

All creditors will be issued the relevant notices by the assigned Insolvency Practitioner when Maelstrom Games Ltd. enters liquidation.

So now it has finally gone official. But of course Maelstrom tries to play the victim. Just like when they breached Battlefronts terms last year. Wayland also confirmed over on Dakka that the transfer of Maelstroms debt wasn't done in order to put Maelstrom out of business (although I guess it was a nice synergy) and also that the repayments being done in an orderly fashion is a fabrication. 


Anyhow... I'm too tired to write anymore about this mess. Hopefully you who has outstanding orders with Maelstrom can get this solved via Paypal or your bank.