Sprint to the Finish

Very close to finishing the Ironclad. Hoping that today and tomorrow I can get the Charger from fit to finish. Then I can include them in the End of Year wrap up that is coming due soon. I'll be finishing the Ironclad today between helping kids with model cars they received for Christmas and will have pictures tonight. Or I could work on one of the 1/2400 Enterprise models I have (NCC-1701, 1701 Refit, and 1701B for which I've been looking for some 1/2400 opponents that won't break the bank for some 1/2400 scale Trek gaming).

Oh, also finally got around to playing that fantasy game with the kids. For some reason Phillip decided that it would be better to run from my contingent for five of the six turns. Something about being scared of the giant. No pictures but we had a good time. Phil says he wants to play with the Star Trek game next time so guess I need to get some of those ships on the table too.

And the votes are in

All two of them. The up side to that is that I've already got the GZG grav tank prepped and ready for painting and I doubt it'll take me long to get Candy ready to go. So the bonus here is that I'll work on both!

The grav tank is going to be for my UNSC figures, which will be light tan cloth and off white armor. So right now what I'm thinking for the tank is off white with light tan fleck camo. Should be pretty easy to pull off, especially if I use the airbrush to paint the off white base coat.

For Candy I'm thinking along the lines of A-Ko.

Well That Didn't Go As Planned

Hmm, apparently adding a poll is beyond my abilities.

So instead, look at the To Do List over here------>
and leave a comment on what you'd like to see next.

What Now?

Sometimes after actually finishing a project I feel at a bit of a loss as to what to work on next. As you can tell by the "To Do List" in the sidebar I have no shortage of things to work on. So I thought I'd run a poll to see what my dear readers thought. I'm going to leave it up through next Friday (26 August) and go from there. Heck, I might even to a bit of a step by step journal of it if there's interest.

Speaking of readers, Monday saw the second largest spike in page views (74) that I can recall (though I think the first had some bots involved). I'm sure that it's nothing compared to the more popular blogs out there, but it made me happy. I suppose that if I posted more regularly I'd get more hits, but on the other hand I'm still amazed that people actually Google my little corner of the WWW.

Resistance Is Futile

Well, I 've gone and done it now.  I've been enjoying painting those 15mm figures so I went to Ground Zero Games and ordered more.  This time two packs of UNSC infantry and a pack of UNSC SAW gunners, a pack of Spider Drones, and a High Tech Grav Tank.  I really like the look of the UNSC figures, even though they don't have infantry with support weapons yet.  But that's OK, because I'm envisioning them as a Tech Level 3 force in Tomorrow's War using drones to carry the big guns and grav vehicles.  The "High Tech" version of GZGs grav vehicles seem a good aesthetic fit with the UNSC infantry.

I think the Felids, for now, will be augmented with the Mekanoid Grenadiers and will be a TL2 force using wheeled light vehicles and tracked main battle tanks. Though the AT-43 walkers will be available for the Mekanoids if they want to fight on their own.

Home!

I returned home from my deployment last night!  Don't have much to add to that other than I'm really happy to be home.

On the miniature front, I'm probably going to do my annual wrap-up post with what I painted in 2010 here in a few days, but no promises on that.  Going to have to dig through and see what I actually painted since I haven't painted anything in seven or eight months.

Plans for this year are to finish my starships, of which I have a good collection now, try to finish my CAV minis, finish off a WIP dragon I started in 2009, and get some 15mm forces painted.  This is combined with actually getting some games in and moving in June.

More Stuff

Added more stuff to the "To Do List." Namely the rest of the Mauridian battlegroup (still need fighters though) and a Victory Star Destroyer from Studio Bergstrom. I'm very happy with the details and quality of both orders. Just need to get my Ninja Magic adapters in now. Hopefully this weekend I can finish the FSE corvettes and remaining escort cruiser. Doubt I'll get the battlecruiser and battleship done, those always seem to take longer than I think they will.

WooHoo

Nothing like opening a package of new miniatures, especially when it's coming from exotic locales like...Suffolk, UK. Just got my shipment of FSE and a few NSL ships from GZG. As part of the Christmas deal they offer I received a Merino-class livestock transport, 2x NSL Missile Destroyers, and 2x FSE Galiano-class New Heavy Destroyers. The rest of the order included (and needs to updated on the side bar):

1x NSL Escort Carrier
1x NSL Light Fighters
1x NSL Heavy Fighters
1x FSE Da Silva-class Battleship
1x FSE Duquesne-class Battlecruiser
1x FSE Centauro-class escort carrier
2x FSE Colbert-class escort cruiser
2x FSE Thetis-class destroyer
3x FSE Daphne-class corvette
1x FSE Mirage IX fighter
1x FSE Camerone heavy fighter

The casting on these are what I would expect from GZG, quite good, though it seems the mold didn't close properly on one side of the Duquesne, but nothing that can't be fixed. The flat areas don't exhibit the pitting that I saw with the NSL ships, which is a good thing.

Can't wait to get started on these, I think the FSE scheme is going to be brown/khaki on my wife's advice.

Nothing like new minis to make me feel all giddy.

Updates to the sidebar

Updated the finished and to-do lists on the side. I've decided that I'm not going to bother putting the decals on the Klingon ships, only the Feds. I've also finished the last of the Silent Death fighters. (Wait, finished, with a set, since when do I do that?) So that brings the annual total to 69 for the year. I've also decided to lay out in detail the Pax Arcadian miniatures that need work as well as the terrain pieces. I've been working on those slowly and am now at a point where the backlog isn't as bad as it looks. I should probably do the same for that Cadian army, but I don't feel like taking it all out to count what isn't done yet. I also think I'm going to switch paints on those and start using the Reaper ProPaints instead of sticking to the same craft paints I started the army with. The ProPaints just cover better.

Right now though, the current fad is starships, so expect to see some of those here later on.

To-Do List Update

Updated the To-Do List, (why do those always seem to get longer.....)

Here's what's been added:

07121: Kraken x2
07079: Naginata Tank (2) x1
07065: Despot Armored Vehicle (2) x1
07042: Mitso-Ta Katana x1
07017: Assault Grenadiers x1
07037: SyRaM Talon x1
07076: Malefactor Tank (2) x1
07016: Assault Grenadiers Heavy Weapons x2
02939: Viking Girl x1
03000: Kyra & Lavarath x1
50016: Rosie, Chronotechnician x1
50005: NOVA Corporate Security Sergeant x1
50004: NOVA Corporate Security Guard x3
50024: Candy, Anime Heroine x1
50047: Mike Noe, Biker Boss x1
50065: Rex, Dark Future Hero x1
14340: Samantha, Mercenaries Warlord x1
14339: Marda of the Blade, Mercenaries Sergeant x1
06123: Bladesisters (8), Mercenaries Adept x1
07008: KDM Rhino x1
03098: Astrid, Female Chronicler x1

Now, where to find time to paint all of this....


Finally got the bookcase yesterday. Got it all put together and started putting finished minis in it. Will post a pic of it and the new work area once all the done minis are in there.

I'm Getting Better

My eyesight is slowly improving. Nowhere near ready to paint minis yet, but getting better.

Anyway, the real reason I'm posting is that I've found the inspiration for my Pax Arcadians.

They will be painted in a camo pattern to match that, arctic tundra in spring time. Will also give me an excuse to buy all sorts of new basing materials as well.

Also on the 6mm front, I've made a trade with Legion4 over on Tactical Command and am receiving 39 stands (just shy of two companies worth) of Space Marine infantry and four Land Raiders. Obviously I'll need to get some stuff to round them out, but I'm thinking that they'll get a nice green paintjob. Specifically, something that'll airbrush real easy. Vehicles may get masking tape two-color camo jobs. I'm also working out how I want to round out my Andrayadan forces and have been eyeball the Skyth from DRM as well as some of the infantry from Exodus Wars.

A Couple Buildings and What's on the Bench

OK, so the whole prioritized list thing went all topsy turvy. I ordered Sara the Seeress with a few CAVs earlier this month because, well, because I had a few extra bucks in my monthly allotment. Sad isn't it. Anyway, I got that for Aprile on the condition that I actually paint it. The impending arrival of a bunch of DRM minis for use with FWC will most likely also affect things, nay, already have affected things.

In the last week I've finished up a couple of my JR Miniatures 6mm buildings. The paint jobs aren't fantastic, but they match the casting of the pieces. I've also managed use colors other than gray as well on them. :gasp: I'm trying to figure out why all sci-fi buildings are painted gray. So my goal is to have a colorful down in sandstones and blue and steel and other colors.

I've got a start on the Gladiator II and the Centurion. The legs to the Centurion need a touch up though as the gray is nearly indistinguishable from the green. I used the airbrush on them and I have to say that I have to be careful to not obscure detail with the ProPaints when using it or thin them even more than I have. I've managed to add three projects to the CAV list. Mainly a Black Lightning Dictator with the arms having been donated graciously by Lanse (Froggy the Great on Reaper's boards) and two Moguls (Kahns with Gkw-12y Gauss Cannons). Unfortunately the Dictator I ordered has some bad mold lines and soft detail. I'm very tempted to request a new one but don't really want another pair of Dictator arms. Maybe if one of the Kahns aren't up to par I'll ask for new pieces.

And then there's Sara. When asking Aprile about the base she said she doesn't like my flock. And that she just wanted a sand base. Well, I didn't feel quite like cutting off the integral base because it's a horrid pain in the butt. So I got out the greenstuff and filled around the edges out to the edge of the washer that she's glued to. Then it had the standing on the pitcher's mound look. So using my immense sculpting skills added a rock outcropping. Aprile's out of town till tonight so I have to get design approval before moving on, but the plan is to have Sara done tomorrow. The upside is that if I count the two buildings (which I probably shouldn't) I've averaged a mini a week so far this year.

Wednesday I get laser eye surgery so next weekend probably won't be very productive. Hopefully it doesn't screw with my ability to paint minis. I doubt it will, but I'm concerned about a reduction in clarity when looking at small details...like on miniatures.

Depending on how things go I may take some pictures tomorrow. But I've also got to start getting ahead on my college homework so I'm not trying to do it during my various holiday vacations that are planned.

The List of Doom...in order now

OK, so the ordered to do list (by section, though some items have been prioritized internally) is this

1. CAV
2. Other Starships
3. 5150
4. 6mm sci-fi
5. Federation Commander
6. Warlord
7. Random Stuff
8. Terrain

Now, those that know me from Reaper's boards probably think it's an outrage that Warlord is number 6 of 9, but if you go back to my original post you'll remember that I'd rather paint anything sci-fi before fantasy. Though to be honest I'll probably intersperse items not from the current queue to keep burnout from setting in.

Now all I have to do is make time to paint.....

You'll probably notice that I've changed the Beer & Pretzels heading to simply "6mm Sci-Fi." This is due to the fact that I'm probably going to use Future War Commander (FWC) for 6mm sci-fi. I had the vast majority of the rules done, but designing the weapons and determining point values was kicking my butt. Moving didn't help my motivation much.

Time to Prioritize

Well, seeing as how there's only a few months left in the year I'm thinking I'm not going to accomplish my goal of finishing the to-do list before December 31st. It was never a hard deadline, just something I thought would be good to do and push myself to get these things painted. But in an effort to get as much done, I think I'm going to need to prioritize my work queue.

As much as I love CAV, what remains to be painted is only a small part of my list. Which means either I should paint them first and get them done and out of the way, or spread them out as something to work on when I'm getting tired of painting the 23rd "Warrior with Sword and Shield." I think I'll save them as the break pieces, that way I can look forward to working on them instead of "I have to finish all the CAVs before working on something else." \

So that leaves the question of what's up first. I'm thinking the GZG ships. There aren't many of them and I'm planning a simple pattern on them. After that I think I'll finally finish the Warlord Orcs. Either that or finishing decal application to the Federation Commander ships that are painted. It's been almost a year since I started on those, simply shameful.

This is going to require some more thought before plans are finalized, more to follow...