Dial M for "Monstrosity"

WOW!!!  I bought some HeroClix online and boy was I shocked when I got them in the mail yesterday.  What the heck is going on with the size of these things?  THEY ARE ENOURMOUS!!!!  What scale are they making them????  I just got a Joker figure and the Batman I have basically comes up to his nipples (if he really had any).  WTF!  Looks like I might be bailing out on these newer HeroClix.  They are just too damn big!!

The Only Good Bug Is A Dead Bug

I'm a big fan of the early Starship Trooper movies.  I know they're a bit cheesy, but I still like them.  Back in the day, Mongoose Publishing put out a Starship Troopers Game with miniatures.  If your lucky, you can still find some sets online for an arm and a leg.  Rebel Miniatures began to put out metal versions of the miniatures a few years ago.  I bought a ton of them (Still haven't painted them).  

Thanks to 3D printing you can now find different troopers and bugs on sites like Etsy.  I ordered a set of the "Crazed Arthropods" several years ago and just got around to building them.  WHAT A PAIN IN THE A$$!!!!!  I truly regret the purchase of these wee beasties.

PROBLEMS 

First off - DO NOT open them up together.  Different  legs go to different bugs.  You don't want to mix them up.

Second - No instructions.  You have no idea which legs go where.  I spent a long time looking at the images of the bugs online to try to figure this out.

Third - The resin was cheap.  Several pieces were broken.  Not happy!

Fourth - The leg pieces on some bugs come in 2 parts.  The areas that they connect to are super small.  It was a real ordeal getting these parts to stick together.  (I had to use the old baking soda trick to get them to bond).

Fifth - I went cheap.  You get what you pay for.  I should have bought the ones Rebel Miniatures sells.  Live and learn.

Sixth - the real kicker is that they don't really look like Starship Trooper Bugs all that much in the end.) I hope my paint job (WIP) will make them look better when all is said and done.

SOLUTION

Don't waste your money on the Crazed Arthropods.  Spend a little more and get the real McCoy from Rebel Miniatures and be happy.  Trust me and learn from my mistakes!

I will post pics of the finished "bugs" when I'm done.  Thanks for taking the time to view my blog.  I appreciate that you do.  Take care.

One More Ork

Or at least a Half-Ork.  This is a mod I did on a HeroClix Drax the Destroyer model which I just happened to have two of.  I removed the figure form the HeroClix base and gave it a repaint in the color scheme I used on my recent Ork army.  I glued the completed figure to a new base.  I like the way it turned out.  He looks bad a$$.  

Bad Hombres

I had a little spare time and decided to tackle a couple of mini projects that I have been putting off. The figure on the left in the photo is the Eli Arborwood figure from the Starlink Battle for Atlas Game. Eli is from a race of plant-like beings. In the game he is a gunslinger and bounty hunter. I removed Eli from his original base, gave him a quick wash to give the figure a little more contrast, and then rebased him. I added a skull to the base and put some texture in spots. I gave the base a watery dark brown wash and then drybrushed some lime green into the textured areas to give them a mossy appearance.

The other figure is actually two figures combined. The base figure is a Sand Lion from the Golem Arcana game. I removed the original rider (stupid looking little figure). I then removed the horns which were near the saddle and repositioned them alongside the beast's head. This gave me the room to add the rider. The rider is a Mage Knight Dragon Priest that I picked up for cheap on eBay. I gave him a quick repaint to better match the Sand Lion and then glued him in place. I'm pleased with how they turned out. I don't know what to tackle next. Please check back and find out. Stay safe out there.

 

Scared Out of My "Orkin" Mind

It's Friday the 13th.  I just finished 13 Orks.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  Actually...it is.  

There are 4 Jade Fire female Orks from Reaper Bones. Eight male Orks also from Reaper.  (I did modify 1.  He's in the back row on the left.)  The Ork on the Dire Wolf is from the Pathfinder Deep Cuts line.  Combined with miniatures from other manufacturers, I probably have close to 50 Orks in total.

I finally got all moved into my Man Cave/Hobby Room.  I am very satisfied with it.  It's great to have my own space to paint figurines, listen to music, write, and have some computer time.  The nice thing is now I can organize my collection, have the storage space I need, and have room for the supplies, up-coming projects, spare parts, etc. I've included some pictures of the Orks and the room.  Take a gander.

  

All cleaned up and ready to move in.

Storage for my completed figures. 
 Buildings on top.

   

Happy Friday the 13th to one and all.  Stay safe out there my fellow Human Beings or should I say Mon'Keigh?!  

Upcoming Projects

Workspace

On the "Naughty" List????

 

One of the gifts I received for Christmas was a McFarlane Avatar A-99 Scorpion Gunship.  I always thought these were cool looking in the film.  The model scales well with the majority of my collection.  It was a nice surprise to get it.  Santa knows me so well.

New Digs

 For a long time I have wanted my own space to store/display my massive miniatures collection and to able to work on my hobby without being in the middle of what's going on in the house.  Soon the dream will become a reality.

Our fourth bedroom which has been used for a variety of purposes over the years will become my new sanctuary.  Recently I cleared it out and have been transforming it into my future hobby room.  It's almost ready.  Just a few more final touches and I'm there.  I hope to be in by the end of the week and back to hobby time.

Dead Again

 Heroscape is dead again.  Heroscape: Age of Annihilation is not to be.  Avalon Hill pulled the plug on the reboot of the game last Wednesday citing insufficient crowd funding as the reason.  I'm a huge fan of the game and have enjoyed playing it many times over the years.  I was very excited to see its return.  New generals, new armies, new heroes, new rules...you get it.  But as of now, it's not happening.  I'm including a link to Sir Heroscape's YouTube video about the failure to relaunch the game.  I agree with the majority of the points he brings up.  Give it a gander and see what you think.

Age of Annihilation

Full of Bologna

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to eat were grilled cheese sandwiches, especially with tomato soup.  Sometimes there were variations to the grilled cheese.  It might be bacon, tomato, or a a slice of bologna added.

The other day, I was in the store, and saw a pack of Velveeta American Cheese singles in the dairy case.  Close by were packages of Oscar-Meyer Bologna.  That was it, a sign from the Heavens.  I grabbed a loaf of bread and off I went.

I should be ashamed to admit this, but for the past few days, I have been a bologna and cheese junkie.  I've had it in a grilled cheese, on a toasted bagel, and on a sandwich with mayo and tomato.  Pure joy!  Each one bringing back great memories of growing up with this wonderful comfort food.

Perfection!!!

Not Happening

 Sorry all.  Yours truly is temporarily sidelined.  Orktoberfest fell to the wayside due to multiple family issues and me reinjuring my shoulder.  So my angry green-skinned friends will have to wait a bit to get finished.  Sad...very sad.

Speaking of sad, the Steelers and Penguins are not looking so good.  Can't even get a little satisfaction there.  It's just not happening.

What is happening is my favorite holiday is rapidly approaching.  I can already smell the pumpkin pie and taste the turkey.  Oh yeah!

"HEY, CABOT!!!"

 

A few years ago I was in Kennebunkport and stayed a small B & B.  Each day they served slices of this amazing cheese with breakfast.  When I got back to the 'Burgh, I couldn't stop thinking about how great the cheese was.  After a few days of being miserable without this cheese, I ended up contacting the hotel.  The manager got back to me in a day or so and informed me that the cheese they serve there is Cabot's Extra Sharp Cheddar. I found some at a local store the next day and have been eating it ever since.

If you've never tried it, you've been missing something extraordinary.  No matter what you it eat on or with, it enhances the flavor.  Eat it with other foods or by itself.  I like it with wine or even with beer and soft pretzels.  Try it.  I hope you like it.  I think I'll go have some right now.

*On the Orc front, all 13 are blocked out.  I'll give them a wash on Monday.  Tuesday or Wednesday I'll start to drybrush and highlight.  Pics to follow soon.