I am not sure how people manage to blog every single day. I have just finished an extremely busy year at work and ploughed through the first month of 2012 and I am just now getting around to adding something new to my web site. In the past year I managed to find a few spare moments to finish the grot tank and I am about 95% complete on painting the half-track Ork Truck. I took some new photos this weekend and I plan to get them posted on the site this week.
Hopefully I will be able to post something new each week moving forward in 2012. In hindsight of my busy year, I am at least grateful to be gainfully employed with a job that allows me to afford my hobby after the bills have been paid. This has not always been the case during my 20 plus years in miniature gaming. For several years when my son was younger I was a single parent. I was still able to game during those times, but I was not always able to afford the next new “thing”. Instead I would convert or re-paint my old stuff to represent what was new. Today it is much easier to game cheaply than it was when I first started. Having fun cheaply is what I have decided to add to the blog today. I am sure there are plenty of gamers out there who already practice these methods, but if you are new to bargain gaming or just starting out in the hobby here are a few tips. I have been really busy as I have stated already, but I try to always keep an eye out for a deal. I have not purchased any “new” models in well over a year now. I have exclusively done my miniature shopping on ebay for some time now. I can bid on the pieces and parts I need for my conversions. (A service that GW no longer provides.) I can purchase specific models that only come in box sets without buying all of the other components that I will never utilize. *Lastly I can bid on current models that are already assembled. The pieces and parts Unless you are big into conversions the pieces and parts may not be that big of a deal to you. But there are pieces and parts besides miniatures that you can get for cheap. The rule book to play the game is the most important part. You can shop these on ebay for a fraction of the price of the standalone version of the rule book. This same rule applies to the templates or other necessary components required to play the game. Breaking down the box set The box sets of miniature games usually come with opposing factions. It is likely that you will only play or ever even paint one faction or the other. Therefore you only need to purchase the side you want. It is even possible to purchase single miniatures from any boxed game supplement on ebay. I have done this on several occasions just to bolster a specific squad with models that are only available in a box set. This has saved me hundreds of dollars since I have started this practice and has cut down on the massive stock pile of extra “stuff” that I do not need. Pre-assembled This is the only element of online shopping for miniatures or models that is sort of a gamble. The first rule with any online shopping is to know your price. The second is keep in mind that pre-assembled means “used”. Rarely is the item you are looking for so rare that you will not see it available again at a later date. I called this section pre-assembled for a reason. People often sell professional or expertly painted miniatures and models at a higher price for a reason. It takes time, talent and effort to produce quality professional painted models and you are paying extra for that. I may blog further on this topic at a later date, but for now we just want the preassembled product. My tip for the pre-assembled models is to really look closely at the photos provided in the bid. You are paying for what is in the photos. The description given is not always accurate due to non-hobby oriented sellers, therefore you need to really look over the photos to see what you are about to pay for. Quality of assembly is not always an issue for me, because sometimes I am just purchasing the model to add to a piece of ruined terrain and I am going to basically destroy it anyway. I would rather pay $15-20 including shipping for something I am going to cut up and add to my scenery than $50-60 for something new off of the shelf that I will have to take the time to assemble. If quality of assembly is important, the pictures will tell the tale. Look at them closely, know your price and do not ever be afraid to let an item slip by. There will be another model for sell again soon. The one thing I cannot tell you is what you should feel comfortable paying for a pre-assembled model or miniature. Consider what role the model will play in your force, what the item cost to purchase new off the shelf and sometimes even consider the difficulty of the build. I have paid near retail including shipping for pre-assembled models that I know from experience are difficult to assemble just to save myself the aggravation and time of the assembly. That way I can just paint and play with it much sooner than doing it myself. The crux of it all is to know what you want and what you are willing to pay for it. To save money in this hobby you have to be familiar with the cost of what the items cost new in a boxed condition. Parts are a fraction of the whole and no matter how you look at it pre-assembled is “used”. Remember in the end you still have to support your local game shops and hobby stores. Paints, glues, tools, dice and all sorts of other accessories are also available online, but can be purchased for roughly the same price at the place you go to roll your dice on game night.
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As I sat around taking a break from forging a new Grot Kommanda Tank eating a slice of freshly baked homemade pizza that my wife made for me, I was stuck by a very intriguing question. Do Orks Eat Pizza? I like pizza.;) I am an aspiring Mekboy working my way through the ranks, but the question remains do the real Orks eat pizza? I recently posed this on a 40k Forum:
Do Orks Eat Pizza? Just say that it is true that Orks eat pizza. Would they drink wine or beer with it? I would have to venture to say that in a galaxy of only war that Diet Coke does not exist and if not for some sort of soda, wine or beer what would an Ork drink to wash down his pizza. Surely no one drinks water with pizza right? Not now or in the 41st millennium. I could hardly entertain the idea that Orks only eat squigs for sustenance, although it is rumored that they have been known to eat humans as well as other Orks. (Dead I presume.) As a race of humanoids hell bent on violence and war, squigs would have to be packed with thousands of calories and loaded with carbohydrates to sustain any self respecting warmongering aspiring Ork boy. How else could a young lad of an Ork become some crazed tyrant of a War boss unless he had the occasional access to some of the finer dining of its human enemies? With all of the wrecking and pillaging of entire solar systems, Orks salvage any possible chuck of metal that can be made into a machine of war. So again it would stand to reason that at least some Orks dabble into human dining. After all some Orks (Blood Axes mainly) attempt to mimic their human enemies any way they possibly can. Does this mean that similar to a mekboy that there is some type of cookaboy Ork out there? Has there ever been a cookaboy sighting? Does the cookaboy follow the hoard around in his ramshackle ad hock roach coach of a truck? Is he the one that whips the squigs into some sort of five course meal, heat up an Imperial Guard ration packs, roast a rack of termagant or bake a pizza? If so what clan does he belong to? I will never live long enough to see the far future where there is only war, but somewhere along the way I would really love to know if Orks eat pizza? Please add your thoughts on this entertaining debate. I will monitor the forum and on a future blog I will post the general consensus of wether Orks eat pizza or not. Also: From the forge emerges a fully constructed Grot Tank that is headed over to the paint booth for a nice coat of primer. From my original concept on Friday night to final completion on Sunday night, with minor bloodshed the tiny tank moves to the post production stage. Now I have added yet another model to the ever growing unfinished motor pool. Hopefully I can slide the construction materials aside long enough to get some painting completed. If I finish the Grot Tank, it will become the first fully forged and completed model since I started my blog. Fingers crossed that this will happen soon. I posted several new pictures tonight. I also dug out a Half Track ork Trukk I started over a year ago. I am still trying to keep my promise of finishing up old projects before starting any new ones, but...I did start making some cut outs for my Grot Tank. I will post some wip photos of it soon. I also got around to making two new resin molds for a squad that has also been collecting dust. I will let the molds cure for the week and I will likely pour me a few resin bases next weekend.
It seems as though lately I have been working on this web site more than I have been finishing up any projects. Hopefully soon I can find a happy balance between it all and the two will become one hobby instead of just more unfinished projects. Well I did not get around to working on my Grot Tanks last night. Instead I set up my light box and worked on my photography skills instead. I did manage to get a few good photos out of over 100 attempts. I posted the best photos to the relevant sections on the page. I will practice more photography this weekend. I may even take a few full army sized photos to post as well.
Tonight I will try to get back into the forge and whittle something up. It should be easy enough to post a few w.i.p. photos. I am also composing a how-to on using masking fluid for chipped effect weathering. I could take it no longer. The plasticard has made it back to the table top. I have scrounged up enough gubbinz to craft up a Grot Tank. I cut out some card board last night to make a mock up of the idea I had. (I use card board cut outs since my drawing skills are limited to stick figures.) I was satisfied with the look so I will start transferring it to plastic this afternoon. I am going to make my Grot Kommanda Tank first since it is allowed 2 guns instead of the standard single choice. I also started cutting up the hull on my second Shadowsword that I will be making my second Skullhamma with. I will try to take some pictures as I go along to post to the site. I will also be posting my 2nd How to on advanced weathering effects soon as well. The forge is back in full swing be sure to stop by often you never know what I will come up with next.
Well there has not been much hammer banging at the forge this week, but I did manage to get a few more projects completed. I am still plugging away at the Landraider Terminus hopefully it will be completed next weekend. What I did manage to complete were three Ork Killa Kans that were taking up space on my desk. Now that they are out of the way I have taken up to finishing the Landraider. I am still keeping with my mantra of finishing up old projects before I start working on anything new, but it is becoming ever more difficult. I prefer the forging and converting portion more than the painting. This is exactly why my ratio of started to completed projects is so askew. In the near future the hammer will be banging away once again and hopefully this entire process will not start over. I plan to keep the mix of forging and painting to a more acceptable ratio.
Felmid I am still working on populating the forge with photos. I realized during the course of working on the web page that I need to do some serious work on my photography skills. As soon as I have some better photos, I will replace the old ones as needed. I will also work on doing some squad photos soon.
I am not much on New Year’s resolutions, but this year I made a sort of promise to finish things that I have already started before I start anything new. I am sure I am not alone in the category of not finishing projects. But I happen to be really bad at having too many projects to keep up with at any one given time. So this year my promise has been to wipe my slate clean on all unfinished projects before I start anything new.
For now this approach seems to be working as I have already managed to complete 9, yes NINE previously dust collecting projects: 3-Vindicators, 2-Whirlwinds, 1-Razorback, 1-Deff Dread, 1-Baneblade which has all weapons and variants magnetized, and 1-Ork Wierdboy who has been missing his head for a long time. Now his head has been found and painted and put in its proper place. Now I just need to keep up with the practice and continue to clear all of my hobby cubby holes of previously started projects. Next up for elimination on the old project list is a Land Raider Terminus that has been partially built and painted since Apocalypse came out. I will get some photos posted soon. Felmid And this is where it all begins. I have been in the gaming hobby (RPG etc.) since 1975. I painted my first miniature with a tooth pick in 1980. I got involved with wargaming with a Games Workshop board game called Ultramarine. (I will do a look back article on it in a future post.) Not long after the board game came the Rouge Trader rule book. It was with the purchase of this book that the miniature addiction began. From that purchase many years ago, my hobby has turned into this.
I plan to post old as well as new projects and I will even try to pass along some of my hobby knowledge in a few how to articles. I hope you enjoy the journey. |
AuthorFelmid age 46. I have been miniature gaming for 30+ years. Warhammer 40K has been my favorite palate since the early 90's. Archives
January 2012
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