Pandemic

[minamoto]

Great Progress Mate!

Not a fan of the plastic DP. Tough your inquisitorial DP is getting more awesome!

Well when it comes to filling gaps, hate to do that so I sometimes leave it out. Liquid GS never worked for me, it's silly to apply, imho it's to grainy wich also sucks on T'au Battlesuits, when I tried to sand it smooth it all came off. So in the end I use normal GS and do the job. When using some hand-lotion or something greasy it really gets smooth and becomes more easy to handle.

Milli-Put or other two-component resin fillers might be also not bad, some of them are more smooth by default and others can be flatten easily with water and your finger Can get a bit messy when added to much water, but for filling gaps it's good.

[Stelio]

Good tips all; thank you very much! Turns out that Aves Apoxie Sculpt is listed on the UK Amazon site (first place I looked, so may be available in other places too).

I agree that the plastic Daemon Prince isn't that awesome. It's certainly nice and daemony, but very much not Nurgley. But the official Nurgle Daemon Prince model has that god awful cartoonish eye that totally puts me off.

Really I should look at the wide range of third party designers that have made all sorts of lovely models (I particularly like this and this). That's kind of why I'm happy to use the GW plastic model as a test bed for some green stuff conversion, as it doesn't matter a huge amount if I ruin it.

But back to tonight's progress. Another panel left to set on Brother Vromikos the Pustulent:



It's slow progress, but necessarily so to be sure that the components fully set in the correct position.

That was quick to set up, so I also sorted out the plastic DP tabard which I'll be using as a cloak on this metal DP by filing down some of the bulk so that it fits better:



Also I restarted work on the Nurgling bases. Here are some of the scenic elements that I've gathered, now all cleaned up ready to be used:



Bonus points available for each one you can positively identify!

The white tack was awful to the touch, so having stripped it off the models and thrown it away, I've gone as far as washing all the Nurglings and bases (as well as some of the metal Daemon Prince components) so that any residue has gone (in case it stops paint adhering well):

[Stelio]

It's been quiet from me for a while. That's partly because there's no date set for a re-match, so no deadline that I need to work towards. And it's also in part because I've been busy with other stuff (including work: I'm presenting at a conference this week, and I'm off to South Korea for a week from next weekend).

Here's some progress from last Sunday...



The shoulder pads are now attached to the Death Guard Daemon Prince.

• I tried using Liquid Green Stuff as a filler on the gaps at the base of the Daemon Prince's horns, but it was a bit rubbish.
• I also tried using Green Stuff proper, but it turns out that my supply has partially cured, despite being still in its wrapping and me having stored it in resealable plastic bags on purchase. I'm not impressed.
• So I also gave the superglue + baking soda trick a go, and it was great! I'll definitely be doing more of that.

Since the Great Unclean One is based now, I also fixed on the Plague Flail arm. I pinned it for strength, particular since this sets it at a different angle to its intended sculpt, so there's a fair amount of gap at the wrist. I've filled that with the epoxy glue for the most part and will touch up later.

I also used some excess glue to build up the gaps under the model's feet (it's designed to go on a totally flat base, so it doesn't sit quite right). There's more filling to do, but multiple layers will make it an easier job, since I've got the time.

No further progress over the past week. I'm working on my actual day job this evening instead.

[Dai]

DP is getting cooler and cooler.

Crazy to see the GUO being tied down with a lackey-band like that. :P

Hope work eases up and that Korea offers opportunities for fun as well as work responsibilities.

[Tapeworm]

Don’t drink the Soju! It’s awful stuff, I saw a lot of guys get hammered on it and do really stupid shit. Of course we were Marines and expected to be idiots. The GUO is looking good so far.

[Stelio]

Not much of an update, as without a deadline to work against I've been majorly slacking. Also life always offers other things to take up my time (you know, like work and family).

But I have now completed one of the trickier jobs on my list: pinning the banner on Epidemius. This is what I got up to on Tuesday evening:



Drilling so very carefully!



Slip in a 7mm long pin and some two-part epoxy glue and...



It's a major relief that the operation is over and was successful. If the drilling had gone wrong (poking out the side or something) I'd have been gutted. It's now a much stronger bond, and hopefully will not come apart again.

Just the sword arm left to re-fix on this model (and again, I'll pin it this time). Oh, and a nurgling to attach to one of the palanquin tusks; I'd almost forgotten that. I'll also be making a base.

On the subject of basing, a few weeks back at a garden centre I found a lovely piece of slate that was shearing into loads of thin layers. I gathered up all the pieces, hoping they'd just charge it as a single rock. And they said, since it was broken, I could have it for free! Result! It's absolutely perfect for making bases. (Admittedly I was also buying over £100 of wood at the time to build a super-sturdy raised bed for raspberries.)

[Stelio]

Posting yesterday was clearly helpful for rekindling my keen: I did a bit more that same day.



Epidemius is now fully pinned and complete, with a working sword arm. (Oh yeah, still needs a Nurgling riding a tusk... must remember that.)



And I'm experimenting with making a slate base. So this is a piece that I've cut into the right shape (with pliers) that has a gradient to closely match Epidemius's underside. I've mounted the slate on just a piece of felt, to protect tabletops. I'm concerned that the slate alone may be too flimsy, and might crack. We'll see how it works in practice once I've glued on the metal model; I can always clean it off it it does crack.

Already some of the slate has flaked off, so I'm going to have to add some glue between layers. Perhaps a coat of varnish will help hold it together? I guess that would help a base coat of paint to adhere, too.

[Dai]

I really love the epi model and kick myself for never picking one up when they still made him in metal.

The slate is a great idea. Have you tried coating it in something like a white glue (elmers over here in the states - cant remember what it is called in the uk)? That shit dries solid and clear and would be a good way to abate the flaking. Slate is porous too so it should soak in a bit to add more strength.

O and... rasberries need a raised bed?

[Tapeworm]

PVA is what they call it in Europe. I still think especially the edges will be too fragile for gaming. Now maybe if you glued to something like hardboard (Masonite) on the other underside slightly larger than the slate to protect it against the occasional bump, you’d probably enjoy the piece more. And I’d use superglue to glue the slate to the base so I’d be more confident of the bond. Of course I usually have a bottle of superglue in my gaming bag. It can help tremendously at times.

[Stelio]

Too much life going on (both family and work) to make progress. But if I'm not modelling, I end up buying more stuff instead. Here's a batch of resin bases from a variety of manufacturers that I piked up from Wayland Games recently:



Tonight I found the time to scrub and soak them, so that I can put them to use.

In other news, I've got at least one game put into the calendar:

• It's my 40th birthday this year, and I'm booking tables at a local games shop to play some WH40k on Sunday 23 Sep. On the off chance that any of you are in the vicinity of Redhill (Surrey, UK) then let me know and I'll add you to the list.
• I just noticed today that there's a "Summer Slim Slam" on Saturday 7/7 at Warhammer World (run by the Papa Nurgle's trading post Facebook group - links may not be accessible if you're not a member of that group). This happens to coincide with when Dai is around too...

Having a play date set should help with motivating me to do more modelling (and who knows, painting?).