Spray Booth.

Hi guys, well I thought I would bring you a post on this new edition to my hobby bench and it's a Spray Booth, it's a nice piece of kit and folds down easy if your only part time user, so no problems there.

I'm really happy to see things moving airbrush wise (which should be arriving shortly by the way). Anyway the spray booth, it's a little smaller than I envisaged in my minds eye but is perfectly adequate for your average hobbyist.

The kit comes with all the pieces you need to vent the vapour and any paint particles that haven't been
collected by the filter out the nearest window, the tube you see extends to around 6' which is alright for me as the booth is placed in my case next to a window.

I would say however that the booth itself with the vent system attached to the rear makes this item very deep size wise to the point that it would overhang my desk 7" which is not desireable, so I'm looking at ways to reduce that extra depth by using the what looks like the window vent attachment (the long flat grey plastic attachment) and a large shallow Tupperware tub (I will get my blue peter badge one day).

I like the fact that the booth has transparent sides to let light in and it also comes with a lasy Susan, one point of note is the instruction manual, well I say manual more like a couple A4 sides stapled together...well it's kind of got lost in translation if you know what I mean but it's ok as the booth is easy to put together.

Rust & Weathering reference photos.

 

Hi guys, as my hobby painting has progressed I have found myself wanting to age and weather my miniatures to show battlefield damage and general wear and tear, this could be from slight chips to power armour to more severer damage to vehicles and battlefield debris.

Well while on a short break in Cornwall last year I took several shots at what I thought were good reference photographs for rust and weathering, we have all seen rust before but when it comes to replicating the effect on our models it becomes much harder to think of the different colours and shades needed to make an accurate representation.

I hope these photos will be as useful to you guys as they were for me and I will continue to brave the strange looks in order to add new photos to this post.

Blog hits 10,000 views.

Well then Ten Thousand views!, it's the number I had in mind when I first started this blog 18 months ago. I know it's not a lot to you guys that have blogged for years but to me its a real mile stone and I'm delighted.

So then 18 months in the hobby, a hobby which started by walking into my local Games Workshop and picking up the 40k rule book and noticing the yellow and black of the Scythes of the Emperor on the glossy pages then I was hooked, since then though my taste in models and games has broadened as has my desire to paint the miniatures in different ways using different technique's.

I have a lot planned for 2015 and feel it's going to be a good year for me hobby wise.

I feel I need to make a special mention to Dave from 40k Addict, as well as having some great looking Nid's on show and other hobby related articles I found one article to be to be particularly informative, its about how to increase your blog traffic, although Dave does say that the old method of just joining Blog rolls isn't as potent as it once was  I did this anyway and found that my views increased from 3000 in twelve months to over 10,000 in eighteen, anyway guys check it out Here  it's a good read.

So then on and up and as part of my 2015 pledge I'm planning on a 50pt Khador force from Warmachine, I just love these mini's they have a real red army tone to them and cant wait to have a go at winter themed bases, I picked this Codex up from Travelling Man Leeds, can I say codex or is that a term used just for GW products, anyway an army book (same thing) its got all the units solo's and Warcasters plus fluff and a painting guide, I think I'll be opting for Epic Sorscha and the 5th boarder legion with plenty of vodka of course.

And has luck would have it Privateer Press are launching a new range of 35pt army boxes for all their factions, this Khador one comes with eSorscha and the units and solo's I was looking at but at a reduced price of £80 for the lot........it's just ment to be guys!!

Bottle update..............it's a hard slog but I'm about half way through and I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end, not sure I'll bottle the metallics as I don't know how well they will react to having water added, I'll see.

New Citadel Paint Dropper Bottles.

Hi well not really new as such folks more of a new way to keep your Citadel paints from drying out.

It drives me mad the way that the flip top lid creeps up at the back after constant use of any particular paint, paint drips and dries over and over again around the rim to the point that I've had to almost get a chisel out to remove the dried paint just to close the lid, of course Im talking of the Citadel pot such a poor design, I know i should wipe the pot every time I use it but hey I'm a busy boy and frankly cant be arsed and so have had to throw away several paints due to them deteriorating in quality though poor pot design and my laziness.

More often than not it seems I'm buying paints from manufactures other than Games Workshop maybe its because I own nearly all of the range or that another brands may have a shade I like in any case I've found Dropper Bottles to be a far Superior container for the paint.

I'm also thinking of the upcoming Airbrush purchase so dropper bottles are the way to go, I shudder at the thought of flip top lids and squeezy pipettes!, that's the stuff of nightmares.

Look at this sad looking mother, this is what I'm talking of...."The Back Lid Creeper" shocking stuff!.

So what I did was I tuned in to eBay on the old computer and bought myself 2x50 Dropper Bottles for ten pound plus shipping, sure that's cheap and the mould quality reflects this..... a bit like Mantics Miniatures lol, anyway guys I suggest that if you buy these you should like me trim the mould lines at the base so that the bottles stand straight, it sounds like I making them out to be pants they arnt I just want them standing straight on my shelf, you can buy more expensive bottles but whats the point I would rather spend the money on mini's and other shiny things.

I'm sure theres different ways of getting the paint from one pot to another but this is what I did, firstly i removed the lid and ring.

I then depending on the thickness of the paint (Layer or Base) added 10 or 15 drops of water and shook to make the paint flow better.

Making a cone shape with paper and tape I stuck it to a shelf  and popped the pot in, 5 Min's and the deed is done.

One good thing about Citadel pots is that the label comes off easily, I trimmed off both sides don't need a bar code or where its made just the colour name.

And its done!, sure theres a little wastage maybe about 10% but how many pots have I thrown away due to them drying out and besides with my airbrush on the horizon this will make my life so much easier.