Chronicles of Xepher - Post 1.5

So, never got round to finishing the last Chronicle but this has been sitting in posting tray for ages. Now might be a good as time as any in finishing it off as am off work today in preparation for an exam tomorrow. (And no i am not slacking before you ask, have already done a mock this morning!) 

But anyway other hobby news, have been doing stuff when i have a free moment but no photos as of yet. A nice mix of minis including some Infinity ones. Just had to buy some after they which caught my attention. Very nice sculpts, just want to paint them well now so have also been adding to my blog list by seeking out ones with Infinity minis. This ultimately led me to Studio Giraldez and the home of the guy who paints the studio figs. Very nice log just amazed at how he manages the detail. Talented painters are those Spaniards.

Anyway that's about all on that front so without further ado back to chronicling!

Chronicle 1 - the continuation

Russian "rifles"

Of course these were just imaginary battles to re-enact Sharpe's engagements so no rules as such (besides this was before i was introduced to the whole wargaming thing), just lining up of the soldiers and knocking them over when they were shot with cries of pain and explosions. But with a limited amount of figures it often involved the Russians fighting themselves, but all in all a good time was had. 

Air Marshal

Captain of the ground forces

However, the Russians were soon joined by more advanced colleagues as I was introduced to other small scale toys and figures. First up were zero hour, these where of a similar scale and introduced vehicles into the collection. And actual firing ones to when it came to tanks, now they added some variety as well as having some great detail. haven't got many pics. They were never painted though but i remember many a happy hour, bombing, exploding and shooting with them. Shortly after some uber cheap soldiers in a plastic bag followed swelling numbers and increasing the numbers to make the battles more epic.

all of them together with samurai bot

Being a child of the 80s i had been influenced by pseudo mecha cartoons such as Bravestar, Jason and the wheeled warriors plus some ones i'd seen in Hong Kong. So when Micro machines (remember them?) introduced some robotage figures i just had to add some to my toy collection and eventually got them as a birthday present. Now these added a further dimension to the imaginary wars and probably influenced why i would later fall into the GW hobby.

Fly bot

However while are on the 1:72 scale story, after GW superseded them, they weren't forgotten and at a later stage i revisited them and added to their numbers again. On the pretence of homework, i decided to try and create a diorama of the battle of Waterloo for a French project at secondary school, however with all best laid plans it never happened...although i did end up with some scots guards and les Bleus backed up by cavalry for the French and artillery for the british. They now sit in a pile in storage but it was fun digging them out. 

Les  Bleus

Scots guard

On a more recent note after a trip to modelzone i also picked up some of the 95th Rifles from the italeri ranges. These sit waiting in the paint queue to complete the circle

Month of Change

So doesn't look like this is going to be a regular thing. Requires a surprising amount of time to update this and when low on energy, inclination is even more diminished. Even now this is a semi cut and paste job as i also post on a couple of mini related forums so am using some of that content! lol!   However, the lowdown for my month long absence is that major changes are afoot, both at work and at home. Not least of these is that I am in the process of making the largest purchase of my life..and no its not a titan, although that would be awesome... i am of course talking about becoming a home owner, its been a stressful few weeks hence lack of motivation.

Anyway the gist of this post is that I'm back..if only momentarily, having taken the day off work to "revise" for another professional exam which is soon to fall upon me, i've been able to regroup slightly. So following up on previous army shot decided to continue in a similar vein

This can also serve as a preview chronicle in prep for the big change. Therefore thought it be cool to see my guard army in all its glory and put together another of my roll call parades. Thought it be good also to have a stock take, gf and family have "joked" about selling off my minis to pay for the deposit...hmmmm, now even though i know each mini in my collection, it's still good to have some evidence! :D so after some fun late last night and this morning I present the latest view of the maybe "Cadian" expeditionary battle group. Main photo includes almost every guard model i own bar the ones being built and a few artillery crew. So with out further ado...here we go

Furthest forward: Storm troopers and other misc at the front such as a death korps grenadier squad and some of Gaunts ghosts
Front left: Catachan "Jungle cats" company
Front Middle: Veteran light Assault company
Front Right: "Desert Ice" company
Back left: "C" company - "Codger" company - the old guard(metals)
Back Middle: "A" Company - "Advanced" company(Being built)
Back right: "B" Company - "Bastion" company

"Desert Ice" company

Veteran light Assault company & Death korps etc

"Jungle cats" Catachan company

"C" company

"A" Company

"B" Company

and finally, what would a guard army be without its tanks....so here is the "Armoured Corps"

Left: Leman russ company - Spartans supported by baneblade "Deliverance"
Middle: Chimera phalanx - LAVs for use with Light assault company
Right: Artillery company ("Heavy reign" -under construction) and fire support (literally- 3 hellhounds & 1 swappable pup- "the firebrands") supported by shadow sword "Providence"

We interupt this programming for.....err..not much reason

so... intermittent service continues. The last post wasn't actually complete, I just got tired and thought i'd finish it off the following day. As it was, one day turned into two, two into four...and before i knew it, October had arrived. Alas that is the way these days, weeks pass and i don't know where they disappear off to. Its been a long slog past couple of weeks with the boss off, draining away a lot of enthusiasm. But what little mojo that has remained i have poured into the hobby, focussing on painting and modelling so not all has been lost. Also as its always good to see the fruits of your labours, managed to get some more recent army shots to give me an idea of how it looks so far and what needs to be completed although even these shots don't give the whole picture as this is just the cadian infantry with a catachan company thrown in. Now I haven't yet decided on what to call the army as always thought i'd come up with a name for them rather that just cadians..but being relatively unimaginative to create a back story i think they will be just cadians... specifically the 88th expeditionary battlegroup...i just made that up...but kinda like it. Thinking is that I want them to be a space faring battlegroup to link into my Battlefleet gothic fleet so the "expeditionary"  bit is likely to stay....anyway one to ponder....but the battalion in full will have other regiments in it so makes sense. But for now pics of what i'm working on, which is mainly the cadian element.

In this pic is B & C companies from the cadians and a catachan demi company. All my companies will consist of roughly 3 platoons of 3 squads with attendant heavy weapon support. Demi companies are the ones that don't quite reach that quota.(Basically all the other regiments, Valhallan, Catachan)

C company is the one furthest to the left made up of old school metal cadians.
Catachan "Jungle cat" company is obviously the middle one, (bases need to be painted)
which leaves B company on the right. This is a company predominantly designed to hold the line with autocannons and Grenade launchers aplenty. I'll introduce them squad by squad eventually but just as an initial introduction

And in this pic is A company on the right and the LAG or "light assault group" to the left made up of the 9 squads on the left. These are all veterans or grenadiers and are mounted in Chimeras that are not pictured.

At the moment i am focussing on finishing up A company which is missing several squads, but the LAG is also getting some attention as will only need a few more troopers to reach completion.
And just for the fun of it as built and finished him recently, a WIP of 1st Sgt of 1st Platoon in A company. In this company all 1st sqd sgts will be armed with swords, 2nd sqd sgts with chainswords, 3 sqd sgts laspistols to help differentiate the squads.

Chronicles of Xepher - Post 1

So haven't been very productive in the writing sense of late, but that doesn't mean i haven't had ideas or wanted to...it's just sitting down and setting time aside that has been the issue. Goes back to the motivation issue in the previous post. But since then have had a few thoughts that i have wanted to put down ranging from nostalgia (triggered by a reunion of sorts with school friends from 10yrs ago) to lady jiggles. Now the latter isn't as erotic as it sounds...for wont of a better word to describe it, its when you absent mindedly jiggle your leg up and down when you are preoccupied with something else for reasons unknown. I get told off by my mother and my lady partner for it as apparently it is not a good look, and in Chinese terms any fortune you may have had is shaken out. Anyway back on topic, yeah so thoughts on lady jiggles is that i didn't know they existed in the female of the species. Thinking it a predominantly male trait, i was surprised today to see a lady on the tube jiggling away which got me thinking as to whether this was a one off or that all ladies do it also just more discreetly. In retrospect this is a pretty inane thought to put down. Alas, my mind is cruel and only remembers the inane when it should remember the more interesting thoughts that disappear into the ether. Sometimes i wish i could have a mind impulse dicta-phone that types out all my thoughts...maybe i should invent that one day....actually wait...do they have one already?...What does Stephen Hawking use? Does he speak with thoughts or is it through tiny movements?

But that is neither here nor there and i have gone off on a tangent. Tonight i was meant to start writing up my "life in miniature" series that gave rise to this very blog. The aim was that i start documenting my trials and tribulations with me toy soldiers and how i got to where i am today. So what am i waiting for, without further a do, let us begin.

Chronicle 1

Now you may have thought i was going to start with GW stuff and "my first mini" and i wouldn't hold it against you, seeing as i've posted up some of my stuff already. However, like so many others, my love for such things started before i was even introduced to the GW world.
From an early age i had an affinity with all things small and detailed. not sure why.. (no chinaman manhood jokes please)...but i was drawn to things like match box cars, lego etc, but it was when i started getting toy soldiers that really sparked it. My first ones were some airfix Germans 1:72 scale my sister bought me when i was probably about 7ish. She had lovingly painted them for me with enamel paints using a toothpick. I loved them from the start, the amazing detail fitted in on those tiny bodies gave me much joy and I spent many a happy hour making "pew pew" noises and chucking them about. They survived pretty well albeit with chipped paint and i've never chucked them. Maybe lost a couple but they still remain in my stores. In fact i spent some of tonight locating them...

 But from then on there was no going back. Soon some Napoleonic Russians were added to my growing collection, coinciding with the introduction of "Sharpe" in my televisual diet. and despite the paint scheme they represented the "rifles" in my growing battles...

.....to be continued

Motivation and life

So its not intentional that i haven't posted in a few days..its just how it works out. Much like life..things don't usually go to plan. Originally i had planned on taking weekends off but i think i'll just post as and when.
Anyway writing on here seems easier than writing in my journal (yes i have one, and no i am not a girl) although it is easy to get distracted. At the moment have been distracted by this weird Japanese film called Love exposure on film4...It sick yet funny in only a way the Japs or Koreans seem to manage. Gory and tackling a weird. But back on topic..if there is one, been busy at work lately and then studying in the evening so time has been sucked up. Not much time for much hobby or anything but again that is life. So yeah motivation or mojo..such a capricious entity.
Anyway too distracted by this film but thought i should put up some recent work
My Kasrkin/grenadier conversions, these are just Forgeworld helmets, some ebay appropriated backpacks, comms packs and greenstuff. Quite happy with how they turned out, now if only i could improve photography skills...stupid macro always makes them look rubbish. My lighting probably doesn't help. Ho hum

Blogroll a thumbs up from me!

If all else fails I'm kinda liking the blog roll thing. Its a useful way to keep track of what's happening on the blogs I'm reading at the mo. Generally my taste in rolls errs to the ones with useful tutorials on stuff like using an airbrush or making washes but ones with nice pics and ideas also catch my attention....I guess most people have the same criteria though. Anyway still trying to sort this design stuff out.
As for my blog title, if it looks unfinished, it is in a sense. Was originally going to add "painter" after the impatient bit. But thinking about it, that characteristic relates to a fair few other areas of my life so thought i'd just leave it add that. Gives me licence to ramble on about life and put down thoughts from self reflection and evaluation. Anyway rambly post....quick, pictures!....

Storm Trooper detachment

This actually isn't the most up to date pic as they have now been based properly, by properly i mean the bases have been painted instead of being left sand colour. This detachment will be complete once i build the second Valk and convert up a hummer style vehicle for the 5 man squad.

Learning the ropes

So, still designing this thing...although i use the term lightly. The layout is currently one of the standard ones, and the picture the default for this style...though i kind of like it. As this was mainly going to be my archive of my hobby have added the relevant blogs that i've been reading in the past few months. In retrospect it seems odd that despite all these years its only recently that i've discovered the wealth of information in blogs. I guess i've finally embraced my inner nerd that i've been in denial about for so long. hmmm.
Anyway next is to figure out how to add pics and set up galleries to make this truly archival. hmmm

Ah hah, its pretty much like posting on a forum.....Oh well might as well stick my first hobby related photo in. My guard tank companies as they stand.

So...more of my life online...is this wise?

The answer? Probably not, but considering i spend a lot of my life in front of a computer these days it was inevitable. So might as well use this as an exercise to practice writing more than an email in a bid to save my dwindling written language skills.
So i'm coming pretty late into the game in this blogging malarkey so why now?...to be honest my opening sentence says it all. I've been hesitant to join the legions of voices that inhabit the tinternet, thinking "what's the point? Do i really want to share my thoughts and views on life with anyone and everyone?" But delving deeper i realised that I already exist online and its played a big part in my life whether i like it or not. In my younger years it helped forge some of my social outlook when i frequented a discussion board. However, there are other factors, primarily i was going to use this to chronicle another big part of my life. Wargaming miniatures that i've collected since 1994, however i think now i'll use it as a tool to help order my thoughts and to review what have been the major influences in my life...I'll still use it as a miniature blog but i guess it can be more than that.