A year in review

Well, its been nearly a year since i last made a post to the blog!
The last year has been so hectic for me that writing the blog was often the last thing on my mind - major projects finishing at work, moving house (and the roof promptly falling in!), illness in the family and all the other little things in life have combined to mean that I often don't have time for much at all.

Anyway, I thought that i would put up a "year in review" post, so that you guys can see what i've been working on since my last update. Bear with me, because there are quite a few models to show - In fact, because of the number of models, I've only included one or two shots of each. If you want to see them in more detail, head over to Heretics Playground where there are more detailed photos of each of them...

Before we dive in to the pictures, I wanted to say a big thanks to all the people who emailed me with encouragement to getting back to the blog, but specifically Mike and John @ Santa Cruz and Mike from TerranScapes - Your words of encouragement were touching and meant a lot; so thanks to all of you :D

Now, models! First up, we have my pride and joy - The Forge World Macharius Vulcan. This model was heavily modified within the spirit of the original. The body is unchanged, but all of the gun barrels were replaced with etched brass barrels, the tow hooks were replaced with cast examples, the tow chain was replaced with jewellers chain and the handles (were appropriate) were replaced with more "in-scale" fine wire. I'm very proud of this model:

Unfortunately the casting was not of the quality that i usually expect from Forge World - the hull was severely twisted, necessitating significant re-shaping using hot water as well as a significant rebuild of the rear end. However, it all worked out in the end!

Next up we have the Tamiya Jagtiger Mid Production with Commander Otto Carius. Over the last year i've been becoming very interested in modelling WW2 tanks and this was the first proper example that i've put together. Whilst the colour scheme is not exactly right for the period I think that it basically captures the correct feel of this large and imposing tank. The tracks are Fruilmodellismo cast examples - they were so good i wont use anything else now. Because they are cast as individual links (which are then joined with wire) they are fully articulated like the real thing - they also have significant weight meaning that they sag like the real tracks as well!

Next up we have several models from Studio McVey - what can i say about these models that i haven't already said - they are the finest resin models anywhere in the world. The casting is amazing, the designs are sublime and Mike and Ali are wonderful people to deal with. If you havent
checked out their models yet, head over to the shop now and buy some! You wont regret it...

Finally we have a small mini from Hasslefree - Once again Kev White's sculpts are very fun to paint and provide a great "wind down" exercise after a longer job. For this model, I painted it after doing the Macharius and boy was it needed! Going from a project that took several months (oil paints take a long time to dry!) I needed something that would be quick and fun to paint - this is the reason i have a big stash of Hasslefree mini's in my cupboard!

I hope you have enjoyed this brief foray in to my work - I cant promise how often I will be back with updates, but Ill try to keep it updated as often as real life lets me. Until then, keep your brushes wet!