Spring time again

  Just a quick update on some crazy schemes and progress.

1.  I have made a mountain of widgets and have a couple more to make. Going to make a cup holder and another bit for someone. This has sadly prevented me from making a lot of progress on hobby products..

2. It has however allowed me to exist. I hired a scribe to fend off the IRS and am actually legit for a few months.  Nice. I may even become a thousandaire some time in the near future.

3. The video has gotten a boost from somewhere, currently over 50,000 views. This is where all the widget contracts come from.......

4.  I have become re-interested in Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The rules are good but the army books are ruinous to my enjoyment of the game. I am therefore writing a new army builder file. I have no idea why army builder files fascinate me so. They are like a 20 sided Rubik's cube. This file will be based on some sanity and allow old timers to play without exploding.

5.  Summer is here, and that means renewing the fight against Mother Nature. This year looks to be a grim affair indeed. There has already been use of chemical weapons against me, a direct violation of the Geneva Convention. I am suffering form poison ivy. There must have been some in the weeds that were strangling my cherry trees.  The left eye is most likely going to go closed for a while.

6. Still no luck finding a helper. My kids are all fired.  Slackers.  It seems giving them money for nothing has created a dis-incentive to work. This is going to be an issue someday.  At some point I will need some help or I will have to limit output even more than it is limited now.

7. I have started the sci-fi girls at least. Here is a pic of one of the cavities;

Still have the whole other side to do and have to sharpen the edges and polish. This might be a waste, because I had to reset the zero. I made an error and the spindle went off zero. It is impossible to get it back perfectly. I had not done any final cutting so I decided to continue. It should be VERY close, but things were too far along to call it quits. BTW- the sniper rifle is pretty darn big. There is no way these girls are going to be called puny.

  Going to keep working on this as long as no more widget deals come in.  It really has taken way too long to learn and make things like this, but just part time and one person keeps production down.  I have plans for the next sprue after this, which I want to be fantasy.  As you can see it all depends what I am playing as to what gets made. Strange how we gamers have attentions that leap from place to place.




  Have a great weekend and watch out for toxic plants.

Battle Report

  Ok, been still making some widgets, so nothing really new of interest to note. I have the artillery back in the store and a new resin project in the works. So I wanted to share a story of gaming. And this time with interactive click able pictures! These actors are portraying real life emotions. The video sound is not safe for work, or really anyone with any sort of class.

  I was a big 3rd edition Warhammer player, and dropped out during 4-5 editions. A couple of guys at the local store got me back in to it when 6th edition was released. At this time a combined army book called Ravening Hordes was put in to a White Dwarf issue that contained all the armies in an abridged format. We played a league and had quite a good time. I have always hated the army books and what they do to the game.  Now I show up at a game and this is my reaction.

As you are stunned at what the drug addled morons at GW have allowed to be fielded. This has sent me and many others out of the hobby. It has passed ludicrous a long time ago. They really are not drug addled morons, they are marketing to a specific type of gamer and it works for them. What about the rest of us? What to do......

  So having wasted all of the money I should have put away for retirement on model soldiers it seems I have to cash in or use them. I sold a pretty good chunk off last year, but luckily have a bit left. The idea was to use these books.

Newest rules and 13 year old army lists.  There is an Army Builder file as well.

Here is what happened.

The host of Ulthuan is marching off to war. Lots of cavalry to pick from;

And some infantry as well;

Having decided to play at 1999 points I had to leave some of these fine troops in the box. A 1999 point game is so much more tactical than a 2000 point game as lords are not allowed and the special and rare choices are less.

Here is what I decided on;

 A 24 strong block of spear men, 20 Maiden Guard, 10 Silver Helms with barding, and a unit of 6 without barding, 18 archers with command and 10 without, and a unit of shadow warriors with command.

  The scenario rolled was morning battle so I had to roll for lost units. The spear men wound up stuck on the left flank while one block of silver helms got lost on the right. I quickly marched the silver helms back to the center and put the spear men in column to bring them around the rocky chaos shrine and back into action.

  Here is what I was facing;

Elliot and his pack of vermin. I really know little about skaven but how can such dirty little varmints stand a chance against elves? There seemed to be a lot of them though..................

Action began right away on the first turn. I deployed the shadow warriors using the scouting ability into the woods on my far left flank. A large block of his troops had also gotten off course during the deployment and they could interfere with my spear men being able to get back into line in the center.  By placing the skirmishers in the woods they would become stubborn and I actually thought they might best the skaven unit that charged them even though they were heavily outnumbered.

 A hidden assassin complicated matters.
  In the center the Maiden Guard and archers pounded away at a single unit and sent it running toward the rear.  The heavy unit of silver helms hit the skaven slaves and drove through them into the swarms in the rear. Other units kept approaching.

 At this point the center looked good, but it was not. The blue unit of silver helms was charged in the flank by a unit of censor bearers, which is the perfect unit to counter them. And the heavy unit of cav was stuck against an unbreakable swarm. Even though the swarm had little chance of doing damage they kept me stuck while some rats and skaven with whips closed in. At the top of the pic you can see my archers wheeling to the left, because they had to go and help the spear men.........

 

 

  For you see the skirmishers had broken and fled, leaving the spear men to face 2 large units. The only option was to hit one hard and break it and then do a combat reform to prepare to face the other. I chose to go after the rats who had bested my lads and captured their standard.  Opening a large can of whoop-ass, the spear men forced a massive break check upon the skaven. Who passed.  Uh-oh. So you see why the archers were desperately wheeling to the left........

 

 I was a bit unsettled at this point.

 

 

 

  And back to the center again;



  You can see the killing ground set up for the general and his pack of rat-men. Just walk on in and let me shoot you and then charge with cav and lots of violent but feminine elf girls.

  But it was not to be.

 

  The general instead wheeled to take out the unit of archers, while the plague monks added a flank charge to the spear men. Both units broke and fled and thus 2 more banners were captured. The cav both held however, and the blue unit passed its own impossible break test against the censor bearers. This allowed me to reform and fend them off. The heavy cav unit was able to inflict so many losses on the toughness 2 swarm that it won the combat and chased off the packmasters.

 

  And on the right, things stayed quiet thanks to this little Hougemont.

 

  A little unit of 10 archers garrisoned this building the entire game end exchanged missile fire with an enemy wizard and some poison globe throwing guys. Eventually breaking them and scoring some much needed points for the good guys.

 

  The skirmishers rallied and came back to try and recapture their standard, but were killed to the man.

 

  So it came down to this.

 

  The Maiden Guard had to best the skaven general and his ratmen. I only had one character and it was a level 2 wizard. I was facing the wrong way and not thinking I could win this, but........

 

 

  I did a reform and passed a leadership test to allow me to fire as well. I also cast a shield of thorns spell on the unit that would help in close combat, when it came. During the missile fire I took out a few rats, but on the last turn of the game the skaven charged. And I was able to stand and fire, doing just enough damage to cause a panic test which the general failed.

 

 This is Elliot's reaction;

 

 

 

 

 The game ended and we added up points.

 

  The elves managed to win with a 1238 to 878 point victory.   However, we calculated things if Elliot had not made that last turn charge and the skaven would have won by 878 to 874. There was no way for him to know how close things were and if he had made the charge and taken out my general and that extremely costly unit the outcome would have been much different.

 

  Overall a good game with little or no special rules. The game really pivoted on a few critical break tests and some good and bad tactical decisions. At no time did either of us feel that we were facing the hopeless situation of so many GW games when run using current army lists. We are going to try it again sometime and perhaps this winter my old campaign might see light again.

 









Instructions

 Here is a pic of the layout of the parts on the building kit for 28mm.  Think of this as more a suggestion than a rigid set of rules.

   I had a friend draw this up for me. I hope it helps things along. And answers any questions.

  Otherwise, things are going along as usual. The Novakon got a little FUBAR  ( that is "Fouled Up Beyond All Repair" for you civilians out there. Fouled is sometimes replaced with a stronger word in extreme situations if no ladies are present) and the setback left me watching Netflix for a bit. BBC makes some pretty good television it turns out, if you have the time to watch 30 episodes back to back.  It strangley began working just as inexplicably as it stopped.  I have to find an exorcist someday.
  Things are a bit quieter than usual because new methods are being tinkered with in addition to making a pile of widgets. More on that if it works, quietly forgotten if it goes the more likely path. 
   No matter the result, will keep posting the good, the bad, and the ugly. 
  

More how to info

    I saw a mention on The Miniatures Page about the whole process of making things. It has been one of my goals to sort of pull back the curtain on the process and let folks see what goes on. So here is another post of semi-factual knowledge.  I think it is factual but it could be wrong.

  This book is a good starting point to learn the basics.

"Cutting costs in short-run plastics injection molding"

  I tried to add an Amazon link but they claim it is out of print. Try contacting the producer directly;

http://www.morganindustriesinc.com/plastic-molding-guide.htm

  Really helpful and explodes a lot of myths about the process.
  I worked at Harley Davidson Motor Company for 19 years. (until the evil one came and darkness fell across the land. Might be why I am so opposed to greed. )  It was supposed to be a major company, but if you got right down to it most of the time we were flying by the seat of our pants. It always amazed me that anything ever got done. The slap dash manner of making things was hidden behind a veneer of chrome and leather. I could tell you stories.......

  The shop has become a nice refuge from the normal work environment. It has all the things the big factories have. A warehouse space;

Mold storage;

And machines;

   This last machine keeps you on your toes. I have spoken before about its seemingly sentient manner and ability to malfunction at just the wrong time. Lately it has been doing better. It has an auto oiling system that REALLY takes its job seriously. So seriously that it seems determined to lubricate everything in its path. If you get a base with a bit of oil on it this is the reason why. It is hard to find equipment this dedicated.
  The fastest I ever tried to run it was an amazing 14.7 seconds per sprue. This caused a bit of stress and it kept blowing the breaker. It has several cycles: cooling time, open time, close time, injection time. If you overlap the cycles and 2 timers are triggered at one time, sparks fly out of the bottom and it shuts down. A more reliable time is about 30 seconds per sprue.

  Currently on the to do list is a couple more widgets for some folks. This means the girls got bumped again. There is a logic to this. Widgets allow me to eat food and spend money on things like this GTO slot car I just built.

  Making odd plastic bits that I want to put on my table is more of a hobbythan a business. You need some smart people analyzing the market and figuring out what to make if you expect to break even..

  This building, which I really like, has not proven too popular. In spite of repeated requests to make 28mm stuff I have to say the demand is a bit underwhelming. So underwhelming, I have completely scrapped plans to make a 28mm tank.

So there is a bit of insight into making your own plastic shop.

  To sum up;

 1. Keep the machine spirit happy.
 2. Find someone smart to tell you what needs made.
 3. Buy a book to get started.
 4. Have a back up plan.

  And have fun.


 Back in the shop there is one more thing that I have been reluctant to address.

    About the time my beloved ducklings vanished I was thinking maybe they just flew away. Not sure why when I gave them plenty of food. Then I spotted 2 red foxes right out back scrounging around. It all made sense then.  These loathsome creatures murdered my ducks.  It is hard not to want to kill them.  These foxes are unaware of advances made in the area of firearms over the past hundred years.  Your average American can single handedly throw more lead than the entire 20th Maine regiment at Round Top.  While this could be curtailed by new legislation, at the current time it is not a good idea to randomly eat ducks if you are a fox. And an even worse idea when your skin has a monetary value. Although I guess numerous holes could lessen the price.  Have not seen them in weeks so maybe they left the area.

  In any event,  have a good week.  Spring time is on the way.   :)




 

The problem with blow up objects

 

OK, more nonsense from the asylum.

 

 It has become some what a of a windmill for sure, but I am going to try another organic. The issue with "plumpness" Has been somewhat resolved. If he were alive Frazetta would take one look at this girl's butt and say it was overdone. And if that gun were real it would weigh more than a Mopar 4 speed. And I mean the old ones that even a hemi could not break.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And that creates a bit of a physics problem. Namely 2 objects can not occupy the same space. I was playing around with a rifle and it sorts of tucks in the pit of your arm and is somewhat hidden.  This would not be possible if I was made of plastic and the gun was 5 times larger. So it is going to be tough to make something plausible. It could simply be explained that it is sci-fi. But it would be nice if it was slightly convincing.

  That leaves me with a few options.

1. Mold the gun INTO the arms and torso, losing the multi pose.
2. Keep it multi pose and just have an awkard stance constantly.
3. Make everyone standing around like this.

It seems there are a lot of compromises along the way.

Will keep you posted, but some sort of big ass female with a big ass gun is going to fall out of that press in a couple of weeks. Not sure if it will be a pile of crap or not.

Keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Playing in the slums

  Well I keep getting a little healthier day by day.  I am not sure when NyQuil becomes an addiction but I think I am going to find out.

I made this double wide slum habitat for some city in the corner of the galaxy.  I am not sure who this mini is from. I got it off e-bay some time ago. He just blasted threw the door.
   I like the flats and think they are somewhat useful. It is nice to have an unlimited supply for sure.

  I am going to ponder some odds and ends.

  First off, the hobby in general.  I got to admit that wargaming has become confusing for me. There is so much coming so fast that it seems impossible to be part of all of it. So it seems easier to be part of none of it. Lately I can muster no enthusiasm for the latest new product line. And my finances could not do it if I wanted to.

  Kickstarter is running amok. Every few seconds there is a new product to pre-purchase. There are new rules to learn, new fluff to read and new armies to collect and paint. This is a golden time to be in the hobby for sure.

  Unless you already have a huge collection of models and rules you still like from the bygone era.

  I just realized how long it has been since I played Squad Leader. Or Fantasy Rules! by Chipco. And why did I make an Army Builder file for Warhamer 3rd edition? Just to throw it aside along with years of painting so I can run out like some easily manipulated consumer?

  So expect a few posts about crap most people could care less about. I simply can not muster enough enthusiasm to tweet all my friends about some all new Gate of Antares or whatever.  I do fondly remember playing Red Barricades and a host of other old gems that deserve to be dusted off once in a while.

  My current wargaming project is to base up a lot of 1/72 scale WW2 models, scan and massively enlarge my Squad Leader maps, and then combine the best of both worlds. If possible I am going to make a couple of sc-fi models to go along with them.

  Once my Reaper kickstarter pile of goodies arrive,  ( I know, I was weak and it was just that one time)  I am going to run some games of Chipco Fantasy Rules! at a local shop. It is the finest fantasy rule set ever. It only needs a couple of tweaks to be perfect. There is a strong likelihood I am going to make a few models of a generic nature for Chipco or other games. Whatever I happen to feel like throwing in to the collection.

  In the meantime there is still slot car racing. This hobby has been soaking up most of my attention.

  I plan to make a few more products for it someday. Here is my new track upgraded to 1/24 scale. It is digital and can run 6 cars at a time. Mostly 2 lanes wide but one section is opened up to 4 lanes wide.  I am tinkering around with converting static models to slot cars.

 These are some of my latest projects.  I find it the ultimate walk down memory lane because I have driven both of these cars at one time.

  And with a lucky lottery ticket will once again.

  Have a great weekend folks. And maybe take a moment to revisit an old favorite.

Pre-fab building woes

  OK, I glued together some of the new sprues and slapped them with a little paint. I left the roof loose so it can be lifted off to see inside.

  It makes a neat little sci-fi shack. I have some concerns, like I always do.  ( I got a bad feeling about this drop!)

 The rivets are not exactly the same size. This irritates me quite a bit but it took me some time to notice. I showed a friend and he spent a lot of time looking for an error and could not find it without me telling him.  It makes me want to start over, but then again it is not that bad and I got a lot of other things to make. I am going to let it go and if I get a lot of complaints I will have to find time to re-make the entire one mold just to make a rivet .002" smaller.  Damn the littlest problems can cause the strangest headaches. If you buy one be warned.

  But on the other hand, there is some neat stuff in here.

 

 

This is the outside. Corrugated metal with rivets. There is a roof sprue, a plain wall sprue, and a door/window sprue. There is also a "molding" sprue to fill in the corners. It has a solar panel and vent fan on it also. 

 

 

This is the inside. Plainer walls. You can reverse it if you want.

 

It is possible to glue a couple together and make a larger structure. It is not battle damaged but you could take a nippers to it and hack it up if you wanted to. I plan on doing that to mine. The doors and window are pretty thin and can be cut out for open doors.

 

  I am currently in the throes of fighting the mightiest virus ever to plague mankind. As soon as I stop being toxic I plan on getting some of these out to a friend for some proper painting and will post better pics then.

 

  There are definitely a few of these going out on my next city battle field. Some simple dwellings for the commoners.

 

 



  Here is an AT-43 trooper for size comparison.   I am going to have little fun with these for sure.

  Not sure what will pop up next. I got 2 more widgets to make and I am working with a few folks to make some other terrain stuff.

  But, the real issue is that I have to cross the hurdle and make minis. So far I keep playing it safe with nice and simple stuff. But what I really want to make is lots of plastic figures at a reasonable price for people like me. While this building took 4 double sided molds to make a small model, I could be producing 4 28mm figures per sprue. The press is perfect for figures, and I keep avoiding it because of the enormous complexity involved.
  The problem with figures is it take so many hours to design and program the CNC machine. There are so many steps. One error in any step and you have rivets that are the wrong size. With a ramshackle building it makes little difference. With a model figure it might make the entire mold worthless.

  After these couple of widgets I am going to begin having another go at some plastic figures. I will try and refrain from profanity laced posts when things go wrong, but I might show a render or 2 and a pic of a block of metal becoming a mold.

 I am in a race against kick starter. I think this is going to be interesting.

Have a nice weekend folks.