Sisters of Battle icodex

Where is it?? This is the closest achieved here - a scan of the image from White Dwarf. It does not seem to be on the Black Library site or in the itunes store. Why the hold up for digital releases? Why only ibook format as well? Rhetorical question the answer is understood here but not agreed with.

Besides this despite the silence for 2 weeks there has been progress with the Armageddon Pattern Medusa and the last squad for the Steel Legion. Progress may be slow as a new proper paint spray system has been acquired and there is a bit of a steep learning curve to make the best use of it.

Making Track Hangers

Part of the Medusa detailing madness has been a desire to make track hangers as shown in the Forgeworld Imperial Armour Masterclass. The problem is brass strip. Where to get some. They suggest waste runners from photo etched sheets from Forgeworld. Not convenient if you do not possess any. This morning between sleeping and awakening the answer popped into my mind. A common material soft but reasonably strong metal, the aluminium used in soft drinks cans. Just cut some out with a pair of scissors and there are easy track hangers.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa Progress

Detailing and assembling almost finished as can be seen in pics. Nothing is fixed in place yet. There has been a bit of detailing madness induced by the Forgeworld Imperial Armour Masterclass volume 1. The cabin rear door/ramp has been hinged so will open and close when the mini is finished. After all there is so much detail in the interior it would be a pity to seal it up in a completed model, on the other hand fixing it open asks for damage to the model.  Likewise the heavy stubber rotates and elevates. The commander figure has his left arm magnetised to allow alteration of position, and he may be attached to the roof of the cabin by a magnet. The remaining detail issue is how to make the hooks to hang spare tracks from the cabin roof as seen in IAM vol 1. Also the question of what the commander should be holding in his left hand is not yet resolved. Should it be binoculars of perhaps a beverage?

One irritation remains is that there is a slight bit of warping or the front of the cabin so that it does not fit the hull seamlessly. Interestingly it appears that Forgeworld also had this problem as the IAM images of their Medusa also show this casting flaw.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa from Forgeworld

Progress here. The fit of the resin components is in some senses excellent and in others amazingly bad. Here are some images of the mini which will be created as several sub assemblies for painting and then finally assembled and detailed.

Sub assemblies allows the tracks to be painted before attaching - something that I find easier than painting them insitu. Can you spot where the fit of the components is amazingly bad?

The medusa cannon barrel is far too wide for the aperture in the cabin top. Some work is needed there.

Progress with the Steel Legion Forgeworld Armageddon Pattern Medusa

This mini is proving to be a bit of a challenge. There are at least 4 components that require realignment to fit together snugly. The cabin floor pan shown in the last post as warped has been cured by a bit of lego and some elastic bands to hold it into its correct shape. The Roof of the medusa cabin, resin floor and detail inserts for the cab wall all require a good bit of work to make them all align.
The instructions, if that is the appropriate word for them, that come with this expensive kit are somewhat minimal and that's an exaggeration.

One thing that Forgeworld could do is provide better assembly instructions. A few bits of paper should not cut into profits much.

Anyway here are the components cleaned of the mouldings/flashings. Some careful trimming and assembly of the components is still required to ensure that the will fit snugly.

 Fortunately the Imperial Armour Masterclass volume one illustrates the painting and assembly of one of these minis, which makes it an invaluable aid.

How Physically Dangerous is 40k as a Hobby?

I have just stabbed myself at the base of the thumb on my left hand with a games workshop hobby drill. Because it was a drill bit, as a penetrating stabbing instrument it was pretty blunt. It hurt quite a lot. It slipped as it was being used to drill holes to create an new slot for a metal mini in a 60mm base. There is a 2.5cm scar at the base of the first finger on my left hand where I sliced completely through the skin, down to the tendons with a very sharp hobby knife while working on a metal mini. Fortunately the tendons were not harmed. There are other scars from previous injuries from working with metal and resin minis. Is it just my bad luck or do other enthusiasts also get injured with this hobby.

Should GW get sued through a class action in the states for their culpability in encouraging people to get involved in the hobby. Been watching Damages.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa Bits from Forgeworld

One thing about the Forgeworld range is that the components often come attached to multiple bits of resin flashing. A bit of warping of the components is also not unusual. So here are the resin bits as supplied by Forgeworld before the cleanup. The floor pan of the Medusa has warped sides and the and the armoured room has a massive bit of flashing attached at as ever a strategically vulnerable part of the component. Anyway off to work with the saw, vise and sandpaper, to sort things out. These Forgeworld conversion kits are not for the faint hearted.

Armageddon is back next year according to Faeit 212

Good news. The final minis for PBI of the Steel Legion army assembling here have been delivered and the first Forge World Armageddon pattern Medusa has also been delivered just in time for the rumour that the supplements issued by GW will feature Armageddon again.

Here is what is supplied by Forgeworld for their Armageddon pattern Medusa.

 Two logoed resealable plastic bags. Minimal instructions. There is nothing other than the sheets shown. There are 2 Chimera sprues. One for the lower hull and chassis assembly and the other is one of the 2 accessories sprues containing track guards. Then there are 18 resin components. Many of these require significant cleaning. Finally there is one brass grating component. One of the resin components is markedly warped although this is not unusual for Forgeworld. But a bit of hot water and support should straighten it out, so no need to send it back for a replacement wit a warp else where. Overall probably an adequate building challenge for £54 UK pounds.