How To Cast Resin Tutorial De-Moulding (Part 4)

In the next couple of steps I am and going to show how the mould has came out and the results so far. For me I was a bit nervous as this was the first time, I have ever done such a thing and was quite excited to see the results so far. 

So things are moving along quite nicely, in regards to making the mould.

In this pic you can see that the Gatling gun has turned out quite nicely. Although the only thing I would recommend is that you leave it to dry overnight to make sure that it has completely set.

And hey presto.

 After I removed the Lego you can see where the mould has leaked through the gaps, this in itself isn't too much of a problem and it can easily be removed with scissors etc.

This is a good example of the plasticine making sure there is no gaps.

At this pic things are looking quite good, just make sure you're taking your time removing your pieces as you can find they can stick and you do not want to damage the mould itself.

After a little bit of pulling everything managed to come out exactly to plan, just take your time as some bits can be quite stubborn and they might need a little bit more persuasion to get them might.

 I just use some scissors to clean them up around the edges.

Even the ork Gatling gun mould came out with no problems. this for me was one of the biggest concerns to whether or not that it's mould would come out ok but as it turned out everything seemed fine.

I didn't actually realise how much of the detail would be captured in the mould.

looking back I could have had fitted more pieces in to cast, in the mould. After all you want to maximise all the potential room but in saying that it was my first time, and I will no doubt put it down to experience for the next one I do.

 So in the next step I'm going to start mixing the resin itself and hopefully have some more pictures very soon.

My Blood Bowl 2nd Edition Polystyrene Pitch Close-Up

A couple of days ago I posted up the 1st half of a blood bowl game that I played over the weekend, and was quite surprised with the number of people asking questions in regards to the pitch itself. So with that in mind I thought it was only right for me to post up some pictures, for everyone to see it in more detail.

Back in the late 80's games workshop released the second edition of the game, and for me one of the highlights was the pitch itself, considering it is made from hard polystyrene. Something I hope they will do when they finally get around to rereleasing the game.

Doing the skull was the most time-consuming and was probably the most important bit to do right, as it does take centre stage when playing as I was very keen for it to be the right colour.

 I recommend keeping blood stains to a minimum as it's very easily overdone with a little red ink it easily gives the effect of the pitch being used.

So there you have it in all its gory hopefully you will be inspired to get your own, as they are 

available on eBay, for next to nothing. Although the only disadvantage is that they are smaller than the current pitches that GW released , but the way I get around it's is it's look amazing and well worth the effort.

Good Evening Sports Fans And Welcome To Today's Game Of Blood Bowl

Bood Bowl has always been a game that I have never quite been able to play as often as I really like to, over the years, because  It seems to get overlooked in my hobby schedule. So with that in mind I was eager to get one well underway and last Sunday was one of the first times that me and AJ had dedicated an afternoon.

So they say blood bowl is a game of 2 halfs and this is a small report of the first that we played on the day. From the start this isn't a blow by blow account, so I apologise if that's what you're expecting it's more showing off pictures than anything else so sorry, if that isn't your cup of tea.

 I'm not being fooled by AJ's smile!

Between my Orks and AJ's dwarfs and with the rivalry and smack talk already beginning to take centre stage it was all about getting the game underway, and as you can no doubt see with perfect gaming weather outside i.e. with a gale force wind out side and heavy rain, it was time to get down to business.

So with the stadium, cramped to capacity and fans eager for blood it was time to get down to the action, and to go through the teams that took to the pitch.

My Orc Salute of The Jugger

4 Black Orc, 4 Orc Blitzers, 1 Orc Throwers, 2 Orc Lineman 3 Re-rolls, FF 1 

Vs

AJ's The Barak Varr Begrudgers

2 Troll Slayer, 2 Blizter, 1 Runner, 6 Blocker, 3 Re-rolls, FF 1,30.00 GP in the bank

We decided that we would run a small league with 4 of our teams, it would be quite simple each team would play each other 2 times home and away, hopefully were going to rope in a few other people, but to get things up and running this was our first game.

 

So having rolled some dice it was decided that AJ would receive the kick,  It must be said that I have a little bit more experience with BB than AJ, having played online quite a lot recently. So I knew exactly what dwarfs where capable of , and with block heavily at there disposal, I was not underestimating what AJ dwarfs could accomplish, from the very start.

AJ played very cautiously which is one of the advantages that the dwarfs have with there slow speed they can afford to bulk up, giving AJ full credit he did rather well as you can see.

His dwarfs protect the ball at all times making it very difficult to penetrate the line.

 For me this is probably one of the most important turns in the half, because I managed to get one of my Blitzers through and around the back of his line which hopefully would put a little bit more pressure on the ball, but with a little bit of skulduggery AJ managed to break free down the left-hand side of the pitch. 

All of which left me a little bit overstretched unable to reinforce that side, enabling him to form a pocket quite securely with the ball in the middle for him to break free from.

And surprise surprise that's exactly what happened in turn 7 AJ's runner managed to break free heading straight for the end zone. The question is can I prevent and stop him.

Desperate times call for desperate measures so in my turn 8 I try to put as many tackles zones as physically possible around this little fellow. I also was lucky enough to seriously injure 1 of AJ's dwarf slayer's and suffered 1-M which was a great result considering, which hopefully, come in handy next half.

 It all came down to a Dodge roll to see whether or not AJ could end the first 

half 1 to 0, and now a drum roll please of course he did it was never in any doubt.

 So that was the first half and how it happened blow by blow or thereabouts. 

Keep posted hopefully I will have the other half soon.

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Part 3 Making The Mould

Probably one of the most important bits to get right, so take your time after all you do not want to get through making your mould, only to find out that it has went horribly wrong.

Also you will only have a limited supply of materials and you don't want to waste any considering it's quite expensive. So making sure you get the following steps right from the very start will help to keep waste to a bare minimum.

As you can see I'm going to make another mould for a little bits and pieces that I need as well as the killer Kan Gatling gun. at this point I recommend getting some Lego as you will need it to make your box for your mould it's probably the best stuff to use, and being relatively cheap it's cost-effective.

When doing this it's important that you spent a little bit of time to make sure that your bits they are firmly attached to the base. As what can happen the bits that you wanting to cast can sink into the mould, and you have to do it all over again, and no one wants that. 

To do this I recommend using plaster scene as it makes a very secure bond, also it's important that you make sure that you seal the bottom properly as you do not want any mould mixture leaking underneath. 

so make sure it's neat and tidy 

So with all that hard work done it is time for the fun stuff. Make sure you read all the instructions of your mould and catalyst properly as it will tell you the delusion ratio that you will need to do when it comes to mixing the 2 parts together normally for catalyst it is about 1 percent of the mould mixture. 

The way I find it easiest to measure these out is with some scales, after that it's as simple as mixing the two parts together. As you can see the air bubbles rise to the surface which ultimately you want to see if your mixture is right , so once again make sure you take your time.

So now comes to the pouring, starting at one side slowly pour your mixture into the mould slowly as this will cover as much detail as physically possible.

there is no prize for 1st place so take your time as you want to minimise the amount of air bubbles.

As stated above that's why it's so important to make sure that the parts that you are moulding have been attached with no gaps underneath as you do not want the mauled mixture getting underneath, so make sure you've taken your time at the very start.

as you can see I actually ran out so I had to make some more but this picture is a good example of the air bubbles rising to the top. At this stage just put it in a warm room on a flat surface and let it dry completely for a good couple of hours.

Using the same process as above I will start to cast the killer Kan Gatlin Gunthis, I must say I was a little bit nervous to see whether or not it would actually work as it's a little bit more complicated with all the little bits of detail like rivets etc.

But a good friend of mine AJ reassured me that it would work.

 There you have it pretty much finished. So in the next step I'm going to reveal the mould, themselves and finally get down to casting the resin.

For me this was the first time I have ever done casting and although it is trial by error there's nothing really hard about it. It's as simple as following the above steps and taking your time.

People assume that casting resin is a quick fix and yes when you have your Moulds up and running it can be, but at the start there is a little bit of time and effort but like anything in life you only get out what you put in.

And having this technique at your disposal it can makes it all the more worthwhile to get right from the very start. and it also opens up loads of potential. 

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Part 2 What To Cast (Gatling Gun Big Shoota)

So having got all the material that I needed quite recently, it was time to think about what I was going to cast, and of course it turned out to be an easy decision, considering I need to make 9 big shoota's for my Killer Kan's, and I really couldn't be bothered doing all 9 individually scratch built so I made 1 instead, and hoped to cast the other 8.

So with that in mind I set about going to work, overall it was a very easy conversion to do, as I simply used a old second edition ork Big stoota model, that I had lying around, from probably the start of my gaming hobby but as I say never throw anything out as you will never know when you might need it.

I would recommend that it is important to spend as much time as you physically can on such a project as it will no doubt payoff when it comes to casting.

Looking back I'm really glad that I spent the time, I did doing all the little extras hopefully it will pay off.

Below you can also see a good view from the side you can just imagine the barrel spinning like a Gatling gun.

So as you can see very easy, I'm also thinking about what else I'm going to do in resin, as I think I need some wheels for my war buggies, and the GW ones I feel it will do quite nicely,

just make sure you don't tell anyone

How To Make Ork Rokkit Buggies From Deffkoptas Tutorial (Part 2)

Hobby life at the minute is a bit hectic, considering I have a lot of projects, that I'm currently working on but I think these take centre stage at the minute, and with a tournament on the horizon I am eager to get them finished.

Having already completed 3 of them the rest arrived in the post a few days ago and I am eager to do them quicker than the first set so I thought I would go into a little bit more detail on exactly what to do.

In the above picture using a hobby saw cut these bits off but keep them handy as you need them later

Once complete stick on your cylinder plastic card also cut the small wings that are at the back of the Deffkoptas,as they make good feet rests.

These are 3 that I have already finished and it doesn't take very long to do once you get an assembly line up and running it's almost just as quick to do all three together rather than individually.

Using the bits that you cut off at the start you can easily convert them by sticking them onto the back of the Deffkoptas. So take a look at the pictures to see what I've done also the one at the very top I kept the fan, by not cutting it off, which makes them a little bit more unique. I also added plastic card to make the exhaust bigger which I feel gives them a little bit more bulk.

So there you have it, probably not the best tutorial you will come across online, but by having a good look at the above pictures you can easily see what I have achieved so hopefully I'll have 9 completed very soon.

I do not have enough of the original GW wheelies to complete the project so I'm going to cast them as soon as possible and hopefully I'll post up my results when I get some time.

this

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Part 1 What Materials You Will Need

For me this is been an aspect of the hobby that I have definitely wanted to try out, for quite sometime now. As I have seen it done a couple times online also a very good friend of mine has recently played about with the idea of casting little bits and pieces for his army. So not wanting to be left behind in the arms race with him, it was about time that I got my own stuff to get these projects well underway.

It took a little bit of time sourcing online for the materials that I needed. The biggest problem was shipping as they can generally are very heavily and can be quite expensive to send in the post. So while searching eBay we came across grp supplies a local company based in Belfast Northern Ireland. Just a few miles from where I live, so with a little persuasion me and a good friend set out for a short car journey to see what we could come across. 

They were extremely friendly when we got there, and the advice that they give us on how to get started was valuable information, that hopefully we will put to good use, and we will definitely be coming back to get more stuff if needed.

 In the pictures I bought 1 kg of casting resin which is more than enough and for the price it was quite good going for £8.00 hopefully this will be more than adequate for the projects that I have coming up. 

Next we needed some RTV synthetic rubber, basically this is the stuff that's going to make our rubber moulds. I decided to go for another 1.1kg after all you do not want to run out. 

 hopefully when set it will cast see-through, it was also recommended that you can put die in your resin so technically you could make it black which in turn would make it easier when it comes to paint

.

These are the hardener and catalyst that you will need for both your resin and rubber RTV which makes them set at room temperature quite potent stuff definitely keep out of reach of children.

so there you have it hopefully this will keep me occupied for the next few weeks, and I will update my blog with more information when it happens.

 So feel free to ask questions in the appropriate box above.

A Tool For Quickly Creating Army Rosters BattleScribe 1.12.00b Released!

I thought this might be of interest it's a very handy tool and I use it myself so download it and have a go. BattleScribe is a tool for quickly creating army rosters for your favourite wargames. It calculates your points total and lets you know whether or not your choices are valid, and then allows you to view a useful summary of your roster including profiles and rules. Welcome to BattleScribe.net! to see for you self.

Sep 28, 2011
And here's the latest version of BattleScribe, with a nice bunch of improvements including the most requested item on the UserVoice page. There are a couple of UI improvements and you also get a side-by-side layout when viewing/printing rosters. That's something people have been after for a while. It could do with further improvement, but it's a start.

For those of you who edit data files, I've added modifiers to profiles so you can change the values of characteristics based on the selections you make in your roster. All distinct profiles (each varient of a modified one, and the original if present) are shown in the summary and marked with what they are modified by. I also thought I'd do the same for rules whilst I was at it.

Without further ado, here's the full change list.

Release Notes:

Alternative layout in view/print roster, with the army's units and profiles/rules laid out side-by-side. Choose the view you want from the Layout Options menu.
The minimum points value of entries is now shown in the left-hand tree so you can see how much something costs before you select it.
Rules summaries are not displayed in view/print roster unless they have a description.
Profiles can now have modifiers, allowing you to change characteristic values based on your selections (eg. Mark of Nurgle gives you +1 Toughness).
Profiles will have their names changed based on what selections of modifiers, so for the above case "Chaos Lord (Mark of Nurgle)" would be listed in the profile summary.
Rules can also have modifiers to change their names/descriptions.
Added Spikey Bits as an affiliate
The new installer will not overwrite your settings file, so you will not loose your saved data repositories on upgrade.
BattleScribe will no-longer crash if the settings file is missing or broken - it will just create a new one.
The selected affiliate in the menu bar will now be randomly shown. If the button is clicked, or you select your preferred affiliate from the drop-down, this one will always be shown.
Android Specific:

Fixed a nasty bug that prevented BattleScribe from downloading game systems from repositories and showed an error message.

How To Make Ork Rokkit Buggies From Deffkoptas Tutorial (Part 1)

So as with most projects I have been wanting to do this one for quite some time as I was originally inspired by a couple of good articles online, so make sure you check them out to see them for yourself as there is some really good tips and hints below.

Rokkit Buggies from Deffkoptas Deffkopta to Buggy!

So with a free afternoon at my disposa today, it was hobby time and I was keen to get my next project up and running ASAP.

 I'm really pleased the way they have turned out as you can just imagine the orks speeding around the battlefield, eagerly trying to find their next victim or should I say target.

Also making one firing a rocket just makes them a little bit more creative as it's a technique that I've used before, and overall it seems to work quite well this time around.

most of the model has been simply conversions,  which all make it stand out from the norm. 

  I also for the first time incorporated some Lego that my son had lying around something I'll definitely do a game in the future especially the little grill under their feet. I also haven't decided exactly what the little propeller is parring it's probably a light of some sort.

As with all my projects I like to make them individual and have tried to convert them different which is easily achievable with the likes of exhausts pipes, 

The underneath was probably the hardest bit to do and it took me a little while to figure it out but by using some cylinder plastic card which doubled as a Chasse, it didn't take too long to have them up and running.

 The bottom line is have a go there's no rules and sometimes it's just a matter of having a idea in your head and just seeing what naturally comes about . 

Also make sure you use the ideas and questions box at the top of my blog , it means that I can speak directly to yourselves after you've left the comment.