Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Playing around with more bits.

  A bit more progress on the medium infantry. The helmet is quite plain, but I like the look. I will include a plain head too.  More to follow soon. I am going to have a bit of leg surgery in January so will be hangin on the PC more than usual.  Should be able to get a ton of stuff done.
    Most likely will simply copy and paste the torso and heads, because they are standard uniforms. Hands are done, and man they are a pain. I still got to do a pointing finger hand, since it is a pretty common one.   Need to bend the arms and legs to give some variety and maybe add a flamer or missile launcher.  Making organics is a real challenge, but the troll gave me some lessons.  He turned out OK but his large gut did not fit into his leg socket without extensive shaving. This model has flat contact points. Problem solved!
  This is going to be a good practice for the planned female sci-fi troops I am determined to add to my collection.
  Still waiting for that Amazon to appear in the mail. If it turns out OK I am going to make a lot more poses of archers too.

Ok, back to work.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Made some tanks today

  This sign hangs by the door to my shop.  Not sure if the motto is really too good, but I like the 3 Stooges.

  Anyhow, today I made a box of the new Mk2 sprues and put them in the store for sale. As always, I am never 100% happy with the results.  I do like them though and think they are a definate improvement. They are flashy, and let me explain.......

  They are flashy because I keep trying to cheat the laws of plastic injection. I am over the square inch surface area maximum for my size press. I do this all the time with molds because I can make up for it by pushing plastic with low pressure. This sprue has some very tiny guns so I needed the pressure, and the result is flash. I was a bit annoyed by it, but then I thought about that finely cast stuff I saw and thought it was not so bad.
   Secondly, it does not fit together perfectly. Then I realized most models I have built over the years need a little trimming.  So in spite of me wishing it was better, I think it is too good to not share.  There is a change in how they are sold. These are $4 for a pack of 1. I know this sounds like a massive price increase, but again I can explain. I can not fit 3 in a bag or even 2. So I had to place 1 per bag. Which means I had to round up to $4.   I hope this makes sense.
  Here is a stubby barrel version I built with no sponsons.  Overall I am happy with the improvements in mold design. I still have a long long way to go but it is coming along.
  Going to start something else next week, not sure exactly what. Whatever suits my mood I guess.  Still looking at those sci-fi multi pose figs and itching for another try.  I will post pics as things progress.



  Have a great weekend folks.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Good news/bad news

  Just a lot of tidbits here today. First some good news;

  Here is an early part for the new Mk2 out of the press. Sporting the insane Vulcan canon which fires a hail of incendiary rounds.  I still got some work to do on the mold, it needs some more polishing. The only issue I can see is some flash and minor fitment issues. I am working hard to learn about how parts fit together. I am guessing anybody finding my stuff is on the cutting edge of hobby products and owns a knife. Seriously, I was sort of ticked about it, but in no time I was glueing this together and figured if I can do it anybody can.   I want to run some product as soon as possible. The weather is not cooperating though. The oil in the press gets too thick to run at these temps and it takes a direct shot from a torpedo heater to warm it up before I can make things.
    I even thought about doing this in 28mm. It would require about 4 molds, and I would just put one of each sprue into a pack and allow the tank to be built. That way my little press could make a bigger object.  I would have to charge about $15 per tank though for a 28mm vehicle.

  Now some bad news;

  This is ejector pin failure. Apparently it did not want to go through the mold due to an obstruction.  A skilled observer will note that these are not hardened and precision ground ejector pins. No, they are 1/8 metal rods from Lowes. About $3 for a 36" section I think. They seem to work OK, until this little episode. I ground it out and will weld a new one in.

  And some good news:

  Was doing some thinking about having stuff made in metal that does not lend itself easily to plastic.  I sent this to Shapeways for a 3D printout as a test run. I got tired of trying to make the hair look decent and figured I can put that on with green stuff.  It might be better to make the lighter scout infantry in metal.  Their mission requires a light, mobile outfit. Then I could do some more heavily armored stuff in plastic.
  And some tragic news; 3 deer came out and ate all of my blueberry bushes down to a twig.  The scoundrels have deprived me of muffins and pancakes for yet another year.  

And today there was this;

   I do not even know what it is, some sort of mink or otter. He spent some time frolicking in the pond and slid over the water falls repeatedly.  He just went ahead and made himself right at home.  Even though I do not know what it is, I am pretty sure his diet consists primarily of fish. My fish.  They were supposed to be a way of relaxing as I watched them swim about. How can I relax when all I see is endless slaughter! Its a damn goldfish pond, not an all you can eat sushi bar!  Grrrrrrrrrr.


  I will keep you posted on any new happenings.
 I do want to thank everyone for your support and encouragement this year. I wish you a Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year.