Adventures in 3D printing and some paint

Posted on October 4, 2022 by grumpyoldtin

I’ve been using filament from GST3D for the last year or so. Mainly because it is dirt cheap, if you wait for the sales, and because the quality has been good. That is until recently. My last batch of ten has had three rolls fail. One badly tangled and the other two damp resulting in clogs. Social media has been filling up with complaints about GST3D recently and they have promised to improve. We shall see.

I have started printing some “Vase Mode” models. Specially designed to only print the outside surface.

This is from the Sinister Cities Kickstarter. A free model so you could appraise the results. It is printed with a thicker nozzle, 0.8 rather than the usual 0.4, so the layer lines are noticeable. At arms length not really. This seems to be a good method for bashing out terrain.

https://www.sinistercities.com/the-citybuilder

This little Gnome Spellsinger is from Old School Miniatures, part of their Alpine Gnome range. Have I mentioned how much I love this range?

https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/alpine-gnomes-3-c.asp

Finally a squad of ten Terminators for the Space Hulk game I am 3D printing. I have printed all the corridors need for the Second Edition, just have to get on and paint them. Batch painting from hell. Starting with a black basecoat, then a zenithal highlight, a colour wash over that, detailing and finally rust and grime. Can’t wait.

Painting this year so far

Posted on January 18, 2022 by grumpyoldtin

My first paints of this year is a unit of Gnomes.

There are three more units to paint and then I can treat myself with some individual characters.

These wonderful chaps were provided by the OS Miniatures Company.

https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/

Better late than never?

Posted on January 11, 2022 by grumpyoldtin

Welcome to 2022. Who knows what shitstorm it will throw at us. Thankfully the last two years haven’t been so bad for us. A combination of a large house and garden and good weather. Hopefully this coming year will be kinder to a lot of people.

As promised here is a round up of the painting from last year.

A chained/bound spirit host for the inquisition

One heluva princess. A civilian for my crowd

A Gnome with a fishing rod. Well it had to be done. Part of a set of scenics for my beloved Gnome army

Nothing to see here. Six disguised Orks. The models were a bit chonky so I didn’t really want to show them.

A Cultist and an Axolotl. And we seem to have a large Troll problem.

This is part of my modular terrain

This was a big paint project that I had been putting off for a while. I don’t know what I will use it for. But I wanted it.

I have to say thankyou to Jamie Loft, Old School Miniatures, for the Gnomes AND for the 2021 Painting Challenge on Facebook. Without it I would have not been at all motivated to paint.

Isolation

Posted on March 17, 2020 by grumpyoldtin

Unless you are living somewhere remote it can’t have escaped your attention that we are living in the times of a pandemic. Austria, like most of Europe, has told everyone to stay at home and only go out if it is strictly necessary. Schools have closed and gatherings of more than five people have been banned. England, however, has told everyone that they can, “Take it on the chin” and to be prepared to say goodbye to loved ones. After years of Tory austerity the hospitals are going to be hard pressed to cope.

Welcome to the Isle of the Damned.

It is day two of the lockdown. Luckily we have a garden to escape to and the weather has been rather pleasant. I have drawn up a list of little jobs that I have been putting off for, in some cases, years. There is no clear end date in sight so let’s see how long I last before going stir~crazy.

Two knock~on effects of the plague have been HappyLab closing and the cancellation of the Austrian Salute. The cancellation of Salute will affect me financially. I will be better off! Going always costs me money which I never recoup.

I had made a little freebie for the show. Hopefully It may get rescheduled for later in the year.

I had started making my annual freebie for this year’s BOYL event. Bring Out Your Lead, the annual gathering of the Oldhammer community.

https://www.bringoutyourlead.co.uk/

I hope it goes ahead. One year I will attend.

Painting progress, I have finished off the twelve skeletal archers for my Dragon Rampant Undead army.

As a bit of a palette clenser I am painting this figure, a Fattie from Judge Dredd.

I originally got into Toy Soldiers via Judge Dredd and 2000ad. I got the role playing game and started to get the figures that went with it. This was one figure and I had pledged to myself that I wouldn’t buy any more figures until I had painted it. After thirty five years I am making a start.

My next project is a bit of fun.

This goes with my Weird War Two ideas. I have the Doctor, Tardis and two “Ironclads”. I have Hitler and Churchill and a nazi film crew. I have managed to locate a model of the Ark of the Covenant. It should be a relatively quick job, chrome underneath and German camo on top. If anyone has a couple of Balkenkreuz going spare let me know.

After this I am prepping another unit of Gnome crossbows, kindly donated by

https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/

Banner ready for paint
Movement tray from MicroArts Studio
Sheet metal from Saint Martis
Scenic bases fashioned from cork

Scenic bases sanded and ready to receive the pinned Gnomes

That is the plague update.

Going back Gnome

Posted on November 11, 2019 by grumpyoldtin

The most excellent OS Miniatures company has a new Kickstarter.

More Gnomes!

As you know I have a great love for these figures and can’t wait to get my hands on this new unit and extras.

Please go and support it.

February

Posted on March 1, 2019 by grumpyoldtin

As a reward to myself, I am not a fan of batch painting, for finishing the Gnomes I painted this fellow.

I couldn”t get the figure I was after (see previous posting) so I got this guy. Originally from Forgeworld, I got him second hand from The Troll Trader. He’s allright for a Truro Boy. https://thetrolltrader.com/ He will be the squad leader in a unit of Beastmen in my Not Imperial Guard 40K army.

Obviously I got distracted after that. So rather than finishing the Dwarf Skiers from Old School Miniatures, sorry Jamie. I found these really cute Elementals on Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3388214 I wasted (no) time in printing off a load and here is a test paint of one.

These are going to be based up for use in Dragon Rampant. Not that I am ever going to play it, more’s the pity. At the moment in the queue I have a: Renaissance Army from a recent Kickstarter, Undead Army mostly comprised of Bob Olley Essex Miniatures (gorgeous sculpts, I ended up buying some more to fill the gaps in my collection), Orcs and Goblins from my spares box and now an Elemental Army.

And then a couple of weeks ago I got a box of bits from Jamie. https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/ I got more distractions in the shape of more Gnomes. I’d asked for a unit of Undead Gnomes to go with my Undead Army and in the package was this guy.

I had to paint him immediately. I made a totally impracticle 20mm base for him to go on.

Now I need to crack on with two Kill Team display boards which need to be finished in about six weeks time for a show in Germany.

Maybe learning to play the game might be useful?

Gnomes

Posted on January 17, 2019 by grumpyoldtin

This is the first project from this year.

You may remember I have been growing closer ties with The Old School Miniature Company. These ties will continue to grow. I have reviewed my sales from this blog and they have amounted to zero. When it is time to renew my contract in March I’m not going to pay for the additional functionality, but settle for a more streamlined site and save myself seventy Euros. I’ll keep the dot com this year as I have had cards made up with that address, Next year I will get my own site and save more money. Maybe. OS Miniatures have their own shop and I have been getting a few orders from it. So for me it’s a lot easier to make one parcel stuffed full of bits and post it off and let them do the marketing, which I suck at, etc.

Anyway back on topic.

A while back OS miniatures did a Kickstarter for a Gnome army suitable for Warhammer Fantasy Battle. This came complete with Army Lists for Third Edition and Sixth Edition. They looked like a nice fun army and Jamie from OS Miniatures obliged me with a set.

I’ve painted them in a quick and dirty style. Base colours, a wash and highlights on the flesh. The banners probably took more time than the units they are with. The image is scanned from a book. Resized in Photoshop and printed out in BW on my laser printer then painted. Each base is magnetised and the movement trays are from a big batch of Micro Arts Studio that I got on the cheap from Troll Trader. The grass tufts and flowers are made by me and will soon be on sale at OS Miniatures.