Storage on the Cheap

I recently came across a new blogger, Lyashk, who was writing about a customized case he had finished and was working on a tutorial for how he did it. I called him out demanding images, and he has quickly responded... Cool Case.

I realize I am not an uber blogger. I do not have a high readership. I do know that I get a decent amount of traffic. If you come across this blog and have found some storage on the cheap please let me know. I am not saying I do not like the GW cases or the Battle Foam Cases. On the contrary, those cases rock...

My issue is I would rather invest my cash in models and not a fortune in cases.

Here is my set up in case you are wondering...


The game room with $34 shelving from Lowes/Home Depot (Local DIY store)



A Plano style tackle box that I picked up from Bass Pro Shops. Walmart, Target, and many other stores would sell the same.






Various armies and how they fit in the plano style boxes. I would not recommend for "delicate" models but it works great with plastic guys. As you can see I have several different sizes all fitting in there.

I want to emphasize that I do not think my way is the best. It is a work in progress and I have a real hard time carrying vehicles and such with this system. If you have ideas/links please share.

Taking Inventory

This is something that I am going to try and do on at least a monthly basis...

It may help to keep me "honest" and on track about what my son and I are buying for our gaming habit and may shame me into making sure it all gets painted. The bright side is I have not bought any models in over 6 months. The down side... I have not painted in over a year... Time to catch up :)

The aftermath of the last 40k game between my son and I.



Tau







IG


There are also 12 more Guard that need to be painted.

Ravenwing


Sadly, all I did was that one test model to see if I liked how it looked. I did like it, but then rediscovered WoW and forgot the rest...

Orks


This is the list that is going to be painful.
5 Converted meganobz in the imaged above.
10 Grots
10 Stormboyz with one Nob
5 Lootas with one Mekboy
1 Converted Painboy
9 Boyz with Big Shootas
6 Boyz with Rokkits
61 Slugga Boyz
22 Shoota Boyz

At this point in time I do not plan on buying any more models until all of that is complete. However... I have said this in the past and just look at that list.

/sigh

I may take some terrain breaks and I will post here if for no other reason that I can look back in a year and chuckle.

Still Alive

I am still alive.

Life has a way of catching up to us and things become "confused" for a lack of a better word. I abandoned the blog-o-sphere without a note and apologize. I allowed my blog to become a "chore" rather than an expression of my local gaming, and because of that it became a burden.

I allowed myself to get into the rut of, I must post as people... both of them... are expecting an update. I started this blog for fun, but every now and then "duty" takes over.

I have done a lot of painting and building in my time off though.

I have 500 points painted of the following...

Saim-Hermit
Sept Hermit
Necrons
IG (Although this list is changing soon to incorporate two vendettas)
Tyranids (Both horde version & Genestealers R Us)
Chaos (My Son's Army)
Ultra Hermits
WAAAGH!!!! Hermit (Both speed freaks version & Foot Sloggers)

I am currently painting up a 500 point Ravenwing.

I have plans on building each of these forces out to at least 1000 points. I will try and get some pics up of my progress sometime this week.

Hermit out.

Spread the Wealth

In between my various trips lately I have been undergoing a mission...

What is that mission?

Ah, allow me to explain...

I have a new goal in the 40K world that stems from showing my hobby off to the various people that I meet. In an effort to support that goal I have decided to slowly collect 500 points of all existing plastic armies.

This accomplishes two things at once for me.

1. It allows me to be able to paint a large variety of things so that I do not get burnt out on any given force... read millions of orcs...

2. It allows me to playtest my other armies against a large variety of models.

3. It allows me to showcase for any who care to see what ever army they may be interested in.

As of right now I have the following :

* Ultramarines
* Saim-Hann
* Tyranids
* Orcs
* Necrons
* Chaos Marines (Khorne & Nurgle)

This week I will be picking up the Tau or the Imperial Guard Box. I am going for Tau first, but it will be an "impulse" buy... so if they are out, then the Guard are next. I figure I should be able to keep this going for a while, and still collect my "real" army. Space Wolves and Dark Eldar should be next in the works.

The really good thing, in my opinion at least, is that they are all painted so far. I finished up my Saim-Hermit this weekend, and quickly painted up 20 Necrons and a plastic Lord this weekend.

Who knows, I may branch out and have a couple of different 500 point builds later or slowly take them up to 1000 points... only time will tell.

Show & Tell

I did not make it to the B-More Gamesday, I was busy hard at work in Miami... However, a buddy of mine made it. He waited in that long Forgeworld line around lunch for about 2 hours. He managed to grab the a bunch of Salamander stuff, and for me... He picked up a DeffRolla and the Warboss Biker.

The Warboss Biker is just sexy. The Deffrolla will require some modification on my part to get it to work. The way it is designed it does not "fit" onto the battlewagon.

I will keep you updated on how it all goes...

By Popular Demand

Ok... so everybody asked me...

"Hermit, how did you build the Proxidar so quickly? How did you get so much detail? We could use some guidance... tips even."

Well... My loyal readers... both of you... Here is my Tutorial...

PAPAERHAMMER and YOU

A list of materials...
Bowl
Spoon
Cereal
Milk
Scissors
Marker
Pen
Plastic Bag
Crayons
Bases
List
Inspiration

Step 1
Get your bowl, spoon, cereal and Milk. Eat. Repeat this step until cereal is gone.


Step 2
Cut up the cereal box.

Step 3
Gather your bases, pen, marker, scissors....


Step 4
Get your list...
Step 5
Take a base, your pen, and some cardboard. Place the base on the cardboard and trace.



Step 6
For those tricky models get yourself an image and draw it out.


Step 7
Now that your models are traced, you need to cut. Get your scissors and star cutting.


Step 8
Now most of you would recycle what is left. Some of you may discard it. These are both wrong. What you need to do is save all this extra stuff. In the modeling world we call this stuff "sprue" and bits. You need to put all this extra stuff in a bit box to use for conversions later...

Step 9
You may be asking yourself... "Self... but the Hammerhead has a turret?" You would of course be mentally imbalance and should seek help... You should at least be polite and answer yourself though. Tell your other personality or whatever you crazies call it that we have that covered. Get your scissors, pen, and cardboard...



Step 10
They make these little "button" things that are silver and brass. I did not have any. What I did have was an old folder. I cut the hinged tab things out. I punched a hole in the "turret" and the hammerhead. Push the hinged tab thing (yes that is the technical term) into the holes and you have a functional turret.


Step 11
Time to label. Get out your marker...



Step 12
Squads Hermit Squads! I hear you. CALM DOWN! Now... get out your crayons so that you can make proper squad markings...



Step 13
Now this is a big topic on the interweb... How best to transport your models? I have heard the talk about Battlefoam. I have seen and used Sabol Army Transport. I have seen and used the GW cases. I have even used Plano and other plastic boxes... All rubbish. Overpriced and not nearly cool enough. There is a secret company out there that makes great transport containers. Perfect. It will hold all of your models and fit in a backpack....


I hope that this tutorial has been informative. I know some may say "Hermit you suck." Well that is your choice. This is a free country.

I know some may complain that this is a hobby and paper models are just crap. Well... perhaps. I think unpainted models are crap too...

When all is said and done, this is a game folks. I play for fun. I am not rich. When my son and I, and my "trainees" want to game and try out new armies I am not going to go out and blow my mortgage on the newest army. This is cheap, and works just fine for having fun.

/cheers

Give Up

Been waiting on my jetbikes from E-bay for over a week now. Got an e-mail yesterday stating that "My items have just been shipped." Nice...

I had been holding off on doing anything orky with the expectation that any day now I would be able to build and paint some jetbikes. Bah! No such luck now.

Last night after I got finished digging in my yard (Yay! Yard work) I sat down and could no longer put off the assembly of some orks. A couple months ago I purchased lots of black reach orks along with some orks to make shoota boyz. Well last night I sat myself down to assemble them. I now have 35 complete along with another 50 that are just legs and torsos...

/sigh

Quite the discouraging task.

Image ninjaed from Despair Inc

Ninja Post

Bit Box

I just stumbled upon this post. You may have read it. You may already do this. If not.. I think it is an amazing idea. It beats my cardboard bit box easy.

Almost complete...

Last night I was motivated to venture back into my painting area. I managed to complete the following...

Both Crew for my Trukk

Three new grots added to Stompa (Pending Base)

Painted terrain features on Stompa base and began work on Grot Swarm

Painted 2nd Black Reach Ork Boss (Minor Conversion work to make him different)

Painted 3 Nobz with Big Choppa

Painted 1 Nob with Kombi-Skorcha

Painting in smaller chunks is the way to go. I have lots more models to go, but progress helps stimulate motivation I think. I am excited about knocking another 5 Nobz out tonight and possibly finishing up my Stompa Base.

Currently I have this left...

5 Lootas (Primary colors applied, need detail)

9 Slugga Boyz (Primary colors applied, need detail)

9 Shoota Boyz (Primary colors applied, need detail)

2 Big Shoota Boyz (Primary colors applied, need detail)

2 Rokkit Launcha Boyz (Primary colors applied, need detail)

3 Nobz with Big Choppa (Primary colors applied, need detail)

3 Nobz with Power Klaw (Primary colors applied, need detail)

1 Ammo Runt (Primary colors applied, need detail)

4 Stormboyz & Nob (Assembled & Primed Black)

1 GW "Forest" (Assembled)

1 Trukk (Still on Sprue)

65 Boyz (Still on Sprue)

Tomorrow I get another set of the Black Reach Orks from Nick... so the numbers shall increase. Not that I am complaining... It is good to have a horde... Better to have them assembled and painted... But still good :)

Into the Unknown

I have to confess that I have a fear of the unknown. Trying new things gives me chills...

Everywhere I go in the blogosphere I am intimidated by these awesome painters, modelerers, and assemblers. I see guys who spend hours upon hours painting one figure to an unbelievable standard. I see guys who can take a pile of green stuff, or plasticard, or foam core, or any other thing that their "lovecraftian" minds can fathom and turn it into amazing miniatures / terrain. I see that magnets are taking over, with lots of people making their little toy armies modular.

Where do I stand?

Upon the precipice of fear. (Not even sure what that means either.....)

What I need is like a hobby book for dummies. I want to make things modular, but have a fear of jacking my models all up. I want to take my time on a model and make it "perfect" but the 100s sitting on my painting table laugh at that idea. I want to break open that fresh pack of green stuff and sculpt out my own conversions, but have never done anythign more elaborate than a rock or mushroom.

Why then do I read blogs about my hobby? That hobby or course being 40k and to a lesser extent Fantasy with a little D&D for flavor...

I read hoping for inspiration. I read hoping that something will stick. I read because I know that I have improved since I started gaming / painting back in 1997.

I remember a time when I scoffed at the idea of shading. When I painted, each section of the model got one color. My original skaven model (first ever painted) was one of the old style one piece rats. I painted the fur bestial brown... all of it. I painted the hands, nose, and feet a lighter shade (forget the name of the color - may have been bubonic.)I painted the clothes (all of them) enchanted blue. I painted his nose and eyes black. I painted his claws and teeth bleach bone. Finally I painted his sword chainmail and his base goblin green. I was done.

I have gotten a lot better. I now know what shading and highlighting are.

I guess I read hoping to continue to improve and maybe one day I can start posing cool tutorials as well and give back to the community as well.

Idea Ninja

Ok.... So I "ninjaed" this idea from another blog that I read but right now can not remember who it was or I would give them proper linkage.

I have added a Workshop reminder over there....

No...

Over there ===== >

Yea.

It is more for me than anyone else. Perhaps seeing what I have left to do will motivate me to get back to painting.

Weekend Update with Wildhermit...

Well there was some painting going on in my garage this weekend. There was also a little basing. These are some update spots and with any luck tomorrow this little project will be complete. I will consider my Stompa finished once the base is done and all 10 of those little grots are painted up on there. I bought a box of gretchin and decided to use those to decorate as opposed to actually fielding them.

I do have this odd notion to one day show up to an apoc game and field 180 boys and 180 gretchin but that is quite a few psychotic break downs away...

Orkspiration!

Orkspiration of course being Orky inspiration...

I have yet to include any mad docs in my army. When I build my forces, not just orks, if I do not like the models or what the "fluff" is like then I just ignore them. In the past I have done this with Commisars, Ratlings, Ogryn, and more recently the Mad Doc. I just do not care for the model. I understand the fluff, but just do not like them.

M.O.S.H.

It came to me as an epiphany...

Mobil Ork Surgikal Hutt

Now this is something I can get behind. I have a purpose for it. I could even create an objective for it. I could conver a Trukk with some plasticard on the back and body parts sticking out. Paint some Red Crosses on it and... well... you get the picture.

I think I can even come up with a simple Nob Conversion that will make me happy and be obvious as to what it is supposed to be. I will use the Burna cloth mask, from the loota sprue I think, and create my own back pole. I will put a red cross on the pole and of course M.O.S.H. Add some "doktor" what-nots... and presto... One Ork Field Surgeon.

My biggest problem is time. I can come up with the cash to buy what I need. I have the ideas to create what I need. I have not enough time to complete a 1/4 of what I come up with.... /sigh

I need one of those life pause buttons... I could click it complete all current projects... Then move on...