Engineer on Mechanical Pegasus, WiP 1

Yes, yes...I know I should be getting the Grey Knights painted and done, but I just can't leave this project alone.  I'll be using this figure as a break in the monotony of painting that army, so I want to get the major converting done on him early.

Besides, a package arrived in the mail for me late last week, and I just can't leave the project alone until I get to play with a new-found hobby resource.  In the comments of the concepting post for this project, Fiend Without A Face pointed me in the direction of Hasslefree Miniatures in the UK as a source for steampunk parts...

The Point of All This

So I wore my Miniature Tim T-shirt to work the other day, and got asked quite a few questions about it.  What is Miniature Tim?  What kind of hobby is it?  Is it fun?  Is it expensive?  Do you really play with little army men…etc.

However the question that stood out the most came later in the day when a coworker came over and said, "So I read a few of your blog posts, and I like them and all…but what's the point of it?  Why do you do it?"

And you know, It took me a minute to answer him.  Not because I didn't know why, but because the reason has evolved over the past 7-8 months.

Project Concepting: Engineer on Mechanical Pegasus

And so begins a new series in the blog, showcasing just how I get ideas from my head, into reality.  I thought it would be interesting to show the concept-to-completion process with my projects this year.

I don't play Empire…heck I barely have played two games of Warhammer Fantasy in my life, for that matter.  In fact, I am only just now gathering concepts for my Ogres forces that I'd like to play, for next year!  However, with all that said, I have always loved the Empire Engineer on Mechanical Mount figure.  Through some outside inspirations, and the fact that I was able to get the model for cheap, I've decided to make this one of my competition pieces this year.

"But wait, Tim,  that's a Mechanical Horse he's riding, not a Pegasus…"

Grey Knights Display Board - In Progress

If you've read my reasonings for bringing Grey Knights to Adepticon this year, you know that chief among them is the portability of the army.  Small, elite force that is so few models, it actually scares me at times.  I've never played a force that numbers this few.

So when you have a small force, do you really need a Display Board for it?  Yes, yes you do.  But it still must fit my criteria for maximum portability!

So what's my solution?

What's in Store for 2012?

Happy New Ye ... Crap.  I'm a little late on that, aren't I?  Oh well.

Normally this is the time of year that folks are speaking of resolutions...vowing to to more of 'X', or less of 'Y'.  In the hobby world, that tends to mean we like to vow that we're going to get that long-sought after and dreamt-of project done, no matter the cost.  Personally, I think that's the worst thing we can do to ourselves and the longevity of our hobby.  I wrote and article on how to avoid hobby burn-out, check it out and see what I mean.

So, what do I do, if I don't make hobby resolutions?  

Why Don't You Post Rumors, Tim?

Raise your hand if you have you been paying attention to the interwebz lately, regarding the rumored upcoming releases for 2012 from Games Workshop.  Yup, me too.

Now those of you who didn't raise your hands, we'll just pretend that we didn't see your shoulder twitch before you stopped yourself from raising your hand.  Next to hobby-related articles and forum posts, rumors are the next most prolific reading material on my daily list of subjects to hit.

But why don't I ever post any rumors?

I Hate You, Forge World ... Love, Tim

Hot on the heels of my love letter to Privateer Press last week, I decided to take a look at what Forge World had cooked up since I looked last...after all, I had a little Christmas money now and it was burning a hole in my pocket.

...and promptly let loose with a veritable diatribe of profanity that I am ashamed to admit to.  Why, you ask?  

Just look at the above new release from our friends across the pond, then read on.