A small 28mm cart

Inbetween the various projects and company-building efforts I managed to get most of a small cart done whilst on a hobby-skype-session.

It will be going off with the Swedish Postal Service tomorrow, placed neatly in a little box. We can all hope it will not lose it's way to wherever it is going.

Just like the Swedish Postal Service has lost most of it's former good reputation, so has the Swedish media. And I suspect the group being interviewed also were screened heavily: No "socio-economically-challenged white guys" were likely asked, because it would have skewed the results to below Malawian results.

Their reputation is on par with Hassan's food joint, or more correctly, the nation he setup his business in (might be Sweden considering). You should always check your country for cutting-edge beneficial competition-edges, such as llamas (see picture below):

Here you can see part of my fantastic Nordic Hair-insulated(TM) arm and hand. Typically I have censored most images heavily but laxness has taken over me in this brimstone heat that has fallen over us: 26 C in the shadow and I am melting and getting nothing done...

... the heat got me thinking this when I sat there in my work-chair, melting and sweating. But eventually the night fell and the temperature fell with it and I managed to get some more work done, namely the cart.

- - -

And lastly, these guys moved to Facebook. I dislike Facebook as much as the next guy, but sometimes we all have to make compromises, perhaps even this Llama in the future...

New Fastitocalon

Don't worry maties, I have not forgotten the Moth Queen, nor have a forgotten that I need to produce resin versions of the Great Beast of the Plains and the Dwarf War Wagon - I am still waiting for funding for the machinery...

This is where it is at for the moment. A Mexican standoff in my mind whether I should finish number 2 or not. But I get ahead of myself. Let's rewind the tape and go back in time:

I figured that I needed to make a new fastitocalon that I could produce on a small scale and perhaps "move" a unit or two... so, by combining (see above) the old f-con with new thougths, and some uplifting words from my pal J, work was started on the new f-con.

It was decided by the time I sat in front of my work-station that it would be a mega-beast, big enough to even play small skirmish games on. Again, see above for illustrative illustration, and as stupid as the diabetes-jug is, just as un-good was my idea to make a resin beast you could actually use as a little barge. Sometimes there is such a thing as too much. Especially with diabetes or resin.

Work on it's head has begun in the pictures seen here. Gum in Super Sculpey with the intention of adding green stuff at a later stage. Everything has it time, and I have finally learnt the importance of doing things in order - it makes everything easier and better.

A rather more thought-out head, with elaborated biological explanations added to each part of F-con 2's head. New one versus old one.

And this is where it is for the moment. The project has grinded to a halt for various reasons. And now we are back at where this blogpost started. It is a Mexican standoff. Do I want to continue with this project, even if it has turned out smaller than the original (as I had actually planned), because I am not sure I like it this "small".

Not seen in these pictures are the following: The tantrum I threw when I had to redo it's leg for the second time and I snapped and punched the original fastitocalon. It was one of those unbelievable moments that a person later, when in front of the judge say: "I did not know what came over me, I have no recollection of the moment when I stabbed the defendant."
     Lol.... he said slowly.

It should have been a picture attached to the text above, an image I would have used to illustrate how I felt when I finally finished the first parts of the new fastitocalon's shell: Near tears, not because of smoke, but of irritation and witheld anger. Living in an apartment has it's positives and it's very definite negatives; not being able to scream with frustration is one of those so called cons. Despite having planned this beast in every little detail it seemed everything seemed to go wrong!
     Can't say I have enjoyed the project so far, but looking at it I feel better: It is going somewhere, and it is not up my bum, to say the least, mr Lahey.


Below is a picture I promised mr J: It is a very pedagogical image of how different cultures try to convey either a message, negotiate or plainly solve a problem.

I got some Chinese snacks from a friend who's originally from said country. They tasted like fermented soy and it got me thinking of how different our cultures are but still we are very much alike...

... but this is a lesson we in the West really need to teach our younglings. Individuality is awesome, but with it comes a lot of responsibility.

... and this week I feel like this joke is all too true. Back in the day here in Sweden, no one wouldn't even see the point in joking about this. I hardly find this amusing, even if I like to think I have a sense of humour. What I am trying to say here is mainly directed towards myself: Having a tantrum is all fine and dandy, but to destroy one's models? No, this llama needs to take a hard and long look in the famous mirror and get his priorities straight, up his game and start producing some good stuff. I hope you will follow me down this tiny, shady path filled with distractions.

A sincere hope that you all have your health and are enjoying your summer, and that you Southrons are enjoying your winter. I see you when I see, good people!

Moth Queen and Dwarf Chariot-moulds!

Big update today. The moulds for the chariot are just the first iteration, I will use the successful casts to redo some details I wasn't satisfied with and then make another mould from there. Not sure if that is standard practice, but I felt it necessary with this rather extensive project.

Crammed in a lot of pieces in this one... Above, you can see me mapping out the mould.

As I said: I crammed a lot of components into each mould (not recommended for various reasons) but tried to have a logical system. Above you can see that the various couplings and pulling-paraphernilia got a mould of their own, and the goats were all paired up.

These are the three first acceptably cast dwarves of which two ended up in South Africa!

Basic outline of some of the details of the wagon.

I (stupidly) experimented with using Super Sculpey as anchor-clay for this first mould. It is softer than plastiline... also, as a sidetrack, always remember to use sulphur-free plastilina when using the normal type of silicone. It worked wonders in many ways, using SS, but in the end it reacted with the primer I had used on the dwarves (for marketing reasons) and that in turned reacted in one place with the silicone. All in all this mould was a success.

[Removed a picture which showed a company mould-making-secret]

I felt lazy and have been toying around with various bits and pieces as well as sketching and trying out new ideas on Moth Queen's face. These are just some experiments - in the end I decided that my original design was rather okay, and I will go forward with it.

Too big mandibles... Eventually I sculpted the ones I had intended to do. But the bits helped me visualize how crappy my new idea was. Also, if I would ever sell this flokker, I would not like to use other people's stuff in the final product.

Mapping out and sculpting her sap-containers. Not showing the start of the Final Face.

A moth needs her fur.

Other big news is that Rimworld (see above for a Packaged Survival Meal), by the fantastic Tynan Sylvester, has reached Steam - I do not use Steam since I dislike borrowing things from other people, I like to own my stuff. Hr-hrmph... Time will be allocated to playing Rimworld, but not that much... I backe his project back in whenever, and have been receiving a new alpha every once in a while and have really gotten my fill of the space-colony-storytelling-machine that is Rimworld, but I am not yet fed up with it.

Keep your eyes out for this little guy in the future...

The beer was not my point, but we'll get back to that later. See you later, fingerbangers!

Moth Queen, part 2

When sculpting a face, it is important that you have a plan before sculpting. A plan was made for the Moth Queen, but I was not entirely sold on it. So, I made a sketch out of polymer clay.

To be honest, it is probably more correct to say that you need to have a good plan, or at least a sufficient plan. Like the taxidermist's project above. It is some sort of "king of the forest"-cat-like thing, but it is also laughable, even if it's probably an okay job - what I am trying to say it: Worse has been seen.

So, I toyed around with the three different eye-configurations as well as some weird snots that may or may not have looked like pence in plural.

Forget the little text-box, I had originally planned a more intricate post...

Her eyes are made for long distance-looking-for-targets, a bit like these Japanese men.

Let's end with some casual racism, "light skin of Chinese-bun - such a wonderful collaboration!".

I am going away for a little short while to do stuff... and things... (see below for exact description of the actions I will undertake over the weekend), so goodbye for a while crocodile!
 

Making the Moth Queen! Part one!

Lololol, as the kids say, this project is going forward. I may or may not have promised other projects but this is the one I am sticking with at the moment, especially as I am still waiting for a so called positive money transaction (paperworks 99% done) to get the vakuum-stuff and other essential things bought for limited production. 
     Yes, I could use company credits (basically a loan), but I'd rather not - such things tend to complicate one's own personal economy, seeing how I chose a rather basic economic form for my miniature-mini-company (lololol, again, as the 30's-something mid-life crisis miniture geek Swede say when trying to pick up high-school-"women").

But I digress.

Before actually following the highly detailed plans for the moth queen I did something I highly recommend: Just "sketch" the basics of the creature in clay, just to see how it really looks. A sketch, when made on paper, promise everything but accomplish nothing (from Eduard Lanterim as we all know), but when made in 3D ("three dee") it accomplishes slightly more than nothing, it's promises however, leaves a lot to wish for: It basically looks like a pink turd with indentations.

Obviously, a Moth Queen will have a snout, but what about horns? I have a version for that as well, but decided to stay away from it. Any thoughts on a flying, slow, tired beast with horns?

When having a hobby session via Skype I made some wheels for a cart which reminded me: I have some old chariot-templates. May or may not do something here if time allows it.

This is a good (not great) way to make homemade miniature wheels for 28 mm. Take some plastic tubing from your home-improvement days, add tape to be able to stabilize your knife or preferably your razor saw. Saw away and you get a nice little round thing.

With the cunning use of Norwegian kontaktlim you can add pieces of a Swedish match to make the things inside, you know those things which you can put a big stick in between when you're out biking, resulting in injury. Not sure on their name or their true function except for the injury-part.

DIY-wheels next to better Perry-wheels.

"Do you even know what department this is?"
"Some kind of homosexual department?"

Courtesy of The IT-crowd.

Lastly: No correct guess what the thing I was going to sculpt in last update, thankfully. The answer of course was the Moth Queen or whatever her name is.