Mother board victory!

  I have repaired the mother board and am back in action.  Nothing else can possibly go wrong, and yes that is you I am tempting fate.  Currently cutting a chariot base as well as some custom sprues.  I think things are going to go in that direction for a while. Sales of my little bits are a tad sluggish and it seems a few people have ideas for some custom plastic sprues.  In fact the little tanks are going to be stopped for a while as I continue to work towards making more organic models while making stuff for other people too.

  These are a couple of CAD files pics of some Amazons I am going to have a go at. I still want to do the sci-fi female militia, but they have to redesigned them from scratch because their arms, legs and weapons were too puny. This model has a more clunky design which should make a better figure.  It seems that most minis have poor proportions and oversize heads, hands, limbs and weapons.  Of course I guess you can go too far, but I have to find out where is a good balance.
   I am waiting for my new fleet game I ordered from the evil empire. I ordered this because they promised to not support it. It is my opinion that in the past support has ruined a lot of the games I used to like. Expansions should enhance a game, not butcher it and destroy the enjoyment.  Just my own $.02. Anyhow, if I like said fleet game I might make a similar scale generic ship or 2.  So much to do....

  Have a nice weekend folks, things are starting to get interesting.   :)
  
  

Learning from a troll

   Today I wanted to follow up on the troll mold.  It was a learning step for me, being only my second attempt at an organic model. (The first never saw the press due to mechanical failures). Here is a pic of a prototype put out of the press and glued together.  It is again another near miss. There are a couple of things I would like to change.  I do not like the open hand and weapon laying in it. It does allow for a builder to use rocks, skulls or whatever in place of the weapon. I do not like the way it looks however.  I should have made multiple hands each grasping a weapon, as well as an open hand. Secondly, the face should be a bit bigger so the details are more noticeable. And finally, the torso needs a bit of filing before it fits into the legs.

   I put a bit of paint on the troll and it looks OK, maybe something like the quality of the Battlemasters ogre model.

  Overall I am pretty happy to see some progress towards the multi part figures I ultimately intend to make. My next mold is a custom mold being made for someone else, so it will be a while before I can get back to having another go at my own things.  I really want to have my first infantry products for sale by the end of the year. My to do list keeps growing, which is good. In addition to making "proxies" for other games I want to finish out some infantry to go along with may tanks so that can grow into a small game someday.
  Looks like I am going to be at Fall-in. Hope to sell some bases and hand out my new business cards. Get a chance to greet people and talk with other hobbyists. It has been a while since I regularly attended conventions and I am looking forward to it. I would like to have some new stuff available by then.

   There is only one thing that keeps standing in my way. The mechanical failures I so often complain about. I know this sounds like a broken record, but it is getting really annoying.

  It started off as a series of seemingly minor unrelated events. A finger chopped off here, a small fire there, a water leak, a PC power supply failure, a motor bearing siezing up, gibs on the CNC becoming rusted, etc.  But lately I have begun to suspect something more sinister. I am posting this blog report from my daughter's lap top. My main PC, with all of my files for making products has shut down and refuses to work. FOR NO REASON.  It is barely 2 years old. 
   A friend stopped by to help diagnose it and we think the mother board is fried. I am awating a new one so I can get back to work. However, the frequency of these events has led me to conclude that it is not a coincidence, the machines are out to get me.  Now that I have accurately assessed the situation I can take  measures to assert my authority over these troublesome gremlins.  And gremlins are the only logical conclusion. My shop is infested with them.   For now.

Still plugging away.........

  Hello again. Above is the new logo for Proxie Models. My son did some work in photo shop for me. I have been quite busy doing the little things I tend to neglect. I am getting some foldover cards printed up to attach to the product bags. I am also finally getting some business cards printed so I can put them in the packages I send out. I was trying to figure out what to list as my "title" and settled on tinker.  Based on these definitions;

1. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair; fiddle.

2. To manipulate unskillfully or experimentally.

3. One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.

4. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler.

  Speaking of which, yes both the large and small CNC machines broke again! One even had an electrical fire and billowed out smoke.  Luckily I am already on blood pressure pills and the people who sold them to me both live too far away to prevent me from loading the machines on the back of the truck and backing it through their window.  Got them fixed again and going to work.
Speaking of which;

  Here are some new 15mm scale guns available in the store. I have not made any trolls yet. Sadly, he turned out to be really fat. I do not even know if nitrogen can fill that belly up.  I got to finish that out and give it a try soon.
  In other news, I got a lot of good ideas from people for making stuff. I have a 6mm scale building on the works and a 6mm tank unit.  I have been negotiating with a couple of guys to perhaps do a bit of design work in exchange for a royalty.  Looking forward to seeing what they make.

   And finally, this flood was the last I saw of my fish. After battling all summer to keep them alive,  the ungrateful little traitors jumped at the first chance to go AWOL. Not only that, the little gnome in the picture went with them. This photo was taken at the high water mark in the morning. The water receded quite a bit before I went to bed. When I got up he was gone. But you can see from the pic he was not even in the water. Either the water re-flooded and then went back down while I was sleeping, or that little guy is just as treacherous as the fish. He was most likely the ring leader. 

Have a great weekend.

Hexagon bases done

   I did up a mold of Hexagon bases. This is stretching the limit of my machine. I should stay under 14 square inches of surface area, and 8 bases of 30mm plus the sprue clearly surpasses that. The result is a bit of flash, but not very much.  I put these on E-bay and in the web store as usual. In case anyone has not noticed, the new stuff on E-bay is 10% higher in price than the web store. This is to encourage people to shop via the store and also to help pay for the E-bay commission.  I never claimed to be a businessman, but even a novice like me can figure out that paying E-bay 12% on the cost of the item and shipping is not smart when the same item is setting on the web-store.     And now I got to get back to work.

Next step and new predator

   Here is a pic of the mold with the next step done.   It has been cut with a 1/4 end mill for  a little closer tolerances.

  After that I trimmed it a bit more with a 1/8 ball mill and it looks like this.

  There are 2 arms in the lower left, some legs in the lower right, and up top is the head and torso spaces.

  Here is another pic, a bit hard to see due to shavings, but I have done a bit of smoothing with the same 1/8 ball mill.

  I will keep posting till the mold fails or until I see what pops out.

  And in an unrelated story, my battle hardened fish are being tested yet again. A snapping turtle is now living in the pond. Notice the foliage he has used in a clumsy attempt at camoflage. This rank amateur poses little threat to my veterans. I just let him go about his business.

Building done-troll started

  The new building is in the store. I made up a few packs today. Mold ran pretty well, there was a bit of flash around the sprue but it snaps off easily.  I decided to put up some pics of the troll in progress and see how he is going to turn out. This is my second attempt at an organic model. The first ended with the sci fi women militia mold ruined and my CNC machine broke down for weeks. Let's hope this one turns out better.

  Here is a block of aluminum that has been roughed for a few hours by a 1/2 inch end mill. Just getting the most basic shapes in for now. I will hit it again on Friday with a smaller end mill and start to get some closer tolerances in. This roughing is the part I hate the most. It is extremely messy and takes a long time. It is also the loudest.
   I will keep posting live action shots until the troll stands ready for the tabletop or the mold lies in a pile of scrap. Most likely the latter, but I will just pick up another block and try again. 
   And finally- there is a meteor shower this weekend. If you get a chance go outside and make a wish.

Some progress- prototype painted

Hello again, here is a brief update on what I have been doing lately.

  Here is a pic of the gothic building painted up with a quick drybrush. It measures 2.25" square across the top so it is smaller than the other ruins. It can be combined with a second kit to make it larger. I glued in some card stock for floors. I was thinking of doing a floor mold but without any floors it makes it easier to build a bigger version and add some sheet styrene or cardboard. I got a fair bit of polishing to do on this one, but it should be available in a day or so.  The butresses want to stick in the mold so I have to take small polishing stones and smooth it out. That is a pain but it seems to be a requirement if you want the parts to come out.

  

Here is a pic of the new sci fi womans militia. There are some fundamental changes. The weapon is not in the hands. It must be attached but this will allow me to include a flamethrower and sniper rifle. I added a belt which I plan to seperate the torso at. This can make the model more multi-pose. The arms are a generic semi-bent. I am going to take them off at the shoulder. The head will most likely have to stay with the torso due to the hair hanging down. I hope to create a sprue that will allow a variety of builds.
 But I need a LOT more practice getting parts to fit together nice. So, I am going to make this guy-or somewhat like him first.

   I am cutting it out now. I removed the boots and helmet and made him a bit more plain, but it will give me a chance to see how a 5 part model fits together. This troll will have the usual torso, legs, right and left arms, and head assembly that is my ultmate goal. I left his 2 fingered hands open and gave him a choice of 2 primitive weapons.   After looking at the sci fi women I was working on I realized that I still have a lot of work to do before I am able to make the versatile multi part molds I want to make, so this guy is a baby step in that direction.
   So that is about it for now. I hope to have the building out by the weekend, the troll if it turns out, then on to those canon fodder militia. After that, I got to see what looks interesting.