Tuesday 26 August 2014

August 2014 Update

A hobby is a hobby. It's not a job.

Missing Mojo
My real life has been busy and frustrating in equal measure. I put a lot of effort into work in order to keep up to speed, and it has paid dividends. I have a new job - a promotion, at that - starting in September, and it will be a somewhat unusual experience to be in a position of authority. On top of that, my dad has had some health issues which've meant it's pretty hard to keep on top of the grim darkness of the far future.

This year has passed us by without INQvitational 2014 materialising. I'm frustrated and disappointed that that's been the case. Still, others have stepped into the breach - Peter has organised a number of games this year (as you can see from this post by Migsula) that've gone very well indeed. The INQ28 forum on the Ammobunker goes from strength to strength, with a number of new posters regularly appearing. Jeff Vader himself seems to outpace everyone else put together, of course.


+DEI CASTIGATOR+
These summer holidays have played host to an unusual milestone, though.



Those of you who are familiar with my internet exploits may remember the Castigators, my DIY Chapter. You can read up on them here, on the Bolter and Chainsword. I posted that thread nine years ago, which is crazy when you think about it. Crazier still when you consider that in those nine years I've never had a completed 40k Castigators army. Abortive attempts have never really managed to get me to where I wanted to be.

And it feels to me like that's nearly always the case - my projects never quite seem to materialise as I want them to. This blog is a shadow of its former self - with all the previous posts disappeared - because I was involved in an effort to create an INQ28 website, which never quite turned out how I wanted it to. I'm not the central innovator of the INQ28 scene anymore - I'm not one of these elite hobbyists - I'm just following the crowd.I want to get some more games in, I want to play around in the 40k universe, but it is difficult with work and family and SWMBO and friends who've in some ways moved on from wargaming.

I've found it difficult to get comments on my latest project, The Battle for Swordpoint. I'm hoping to use it to tie together a lot of the projects that're lying half-finished in my workroom at my parents' house. That's made it somewhat harder to sustain the enthusiasm, but I feel like I might be getting somewhere in trying to create true-scale Space Marines I'm happy with.

My initial attempts were been sporadic. Based on Sebastian Stuart's Brother Stavus, I first started working with plastic terminators, using power armoured arms. Originally I was very happy with the concept, though it does produce Marines that look like T-Rexes - they have very short arms.

My most complete true-scaler, painted by El Diablo


For the Requiem event, I moved towards techniques favoured by Apologist, particularly the use of terminator-armour for the arms. Here you can see the next True-Scaled Marine I made - this one a Chaos Marine, made partly with Dark Vengeance bits and partly with the Terminator Lord kit.

The Dark Apostle created for the "Requiem" Event.


But it was seeing this Grey Knight by Thomas Kyrsting that changed everything for me. He was the first modeller I'd seen who used Tartaros legs for true-scaled Space Marines, and it seemed to work so well that it ignited something in me. I began work on a true-scaled Black Templar for the 2014 INQvitational:


This has led me to my project - to create a squad of ten Deathwatch and a small true-scaled force of Castigators. I have begun with the Deathwatch - being more individualistic and unique, it allows me to refine my technique before embarking upon the Castigators. The Deathwatch have always been a real favourite of mine - for a player like me, knowing I'll never have five different 12,000-point armies, it allows me to include some of the Chapters that I love and wish I could collect. 

I currently have four of the Deathwatch in a semi-serviceable condition: The Black Templar you see above, reworked slightly; a Scythes of the Emperor Marine; a Space Wolf; and a Black Shield Librarian. 

The Space Wolf, made with parts from the limited Krom Dragongaze, and the Scythe of the Emperor
Tancrede, a Blackshield of questionable origins and unquestioned psychic ability.

Of course, it takes time to finish these guys, and it will likely take me quite a while to get it all done, but I am pleased to be sharing my progress with you and hope you'll all enjoy it. 

I will try to update when I have some progress to share.

Hope you're all well, 

Mol.

17 comments:

  1. Now these look like space marines. The size of course, but also all that variety and careful choice of detailing bringing out the depth in the world. They're less about the newest themed bling or tight concept than about lived-in layers of history.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment - it is certainly appreciated. As a huge advocate of the ancient soul and spirit of the 40k universe, I really am glad to get your feedback. There's still a lot to do with these guys, but you are giving me confidence that I'm going in the right direction!

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  2. Nice work on the marines, although using tartaros legs makes the conversion quite a bit more costly!

    As for the Mojo, it happens... I have been working on converting some Inq28 figures for over four years now, but rather than working on them as I would like, I have instead spent the summer "converting" my lawn to low water plants.

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    Replies
    1. The basic concept also uses Tartaros torsos, too - or at least the front of them. You're right, it is costly, and I've been trying to source most of my components thus far on eBay. It seems I might have to just suck it up and buy some terminators from Forgeworld itself.

      Thank you for your feedback, though - perhaps some of my work will make it up on your Pinterest - quite the resource, that!

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    2. Harrow and your crusader conversion are already there! I do not normally "collect" marines for the pinterest boards because they tend to not fit as well into the categories I have set up. (and many marines tend to be sort of "same-y" because of the armor)

      Yours are lovely though, and I really should set up a Deathwatch board...

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  3. Those marines are BAD ASS. As for all those half started projects, one day you'll get em done. This summer I took up all my half done terrain and finished it, for the most part. No idea why, but suddenly it was time to do it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the encouragement. I've not been getting a lot of comments on forums, so it is awesome to see people still giving feedback here. I hope that I can continue to do well with these guys for you!

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  4. I'm quite excited to see you pop up in my blog feed again.
    The problems with real life, gaming buddies moving on and such are quite recognizable. I'm (almost) used to thinking of myself as more a modeller and collector. But still, the underlying thought and craving is to actually use the miniatures I create. Or find more use than simply clogging up the cabinet. That's why I blog about my little toy men...
    Don't let the lack of progress or response/praise get you down. Like you said, it's not a job. Nor is it a contest (of popularity or skill). It's YOUR hobby, if you enjoy it, that's good enough. Ofcourse getting to share it with people who appreciate it too is a huge bonus, after all gaming is a social hobby, and we are social creatures. But it's not mandatory to your enjoyment.

    Those marines are looking VERY impressive! True to form they are imposing supersoldiers, but they are also ancient things, steeped in tradition and their own culture, each an individual of not. Your conversions evoke that imagery quite nicely.
    I'm still working on cracking the truescale riddle to my own satisfaction. But without InQ28, or the people who first thought of Inq28 and pushed their ideas and vision out there, I wouldn't have bothered, or felt even felt the need for properly scaled marines. So, maybe several years belated, but thank you for the inspiration!

    Modhail

    P.S.: If the Inq28 website fell through, do you still have your old blogposts backed up somewhere? I think quite a few people would be thrilled to see your old posts restored here. (I know I would...).

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the extensive feedback - just the sort I'd been hoping to receive on the various forums I posted on. I really enjoy the pep talk, too!

      I will try to post a little more in-depth with my Marines in my next post.

      I do have the old blog posts as an XML file, but blogspot doesn't seem to want to import them, which is causing me difficulties.

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  5. Cataphracti terminators also make a nice base for truescale

    http://snakebiteleather.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/still-learning.html

    apologies for shameless plug :)

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    Replies
    1. You're right, and I'm going to be investigating their use myself. Of the four Astartes above you, there's one with Tartaros legs, one with Legion Tartaros legs, one with Grave Warden legs and one with Phoenix Guard legs. I've seen some nice true-scale Grey Knights on the B+C...

      ... and when I went to get the link, I realised they were yours - thank you!

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  6. I believe I've written entire articles on the hobby not being a job. :) Don't think that you're alone in the fact that life often gets in the way of the hobby. Nor are you alone in that the hobby mojo can wax and wane. You know what you are? Normal like the rest of us ;)

    Your work is inspirational, and for the life of me, I don't know why I've never linked you to your Castigators chapter on the BnC. Reading and rereading their write up is how I was able to put as much thought and background into my own Centurions.

    Get done what you get done, we're all still here and will continue to be here, no matter the frequency of your updates. I second the want to see your old stuff somehow...I know blogspot can be a pain when it comes to importing from xml though.

    Can't wait to see what's coming :)

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  7. The problem with this hobby is that it takes a lot of time, but then again that's why we enjoy it so much. It a universe to delve into, with rich backgrounds and amazing miniatures.
    And can be hard to manage on a day to day basis.
    What you are doing is amazing, and remember to do it for yourself and not the community. No stress, just fun.
    Keep it up!

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  8. I love your marines, and I was wondering if you have a tutorial or a list of parts you used. I know you use Tartaros armor, but what did you do to the back?

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