Weekly Waffle #355 – Big Boss Go Bot
16th November 2024
And so it begins. I’ve had numerous reminders this week that it’s only six weeks until Christmas and we have a million things to do before then, or the world will end. So for this week’s weekly waffle I’m trying to inject a little bit of sanity into my weekend. Don’t get me wrong I know the jobs will have to be done and there is no hiding from it, but I’m going to hide for a little bit. Hopefully I will be able to distract you all with little bit of hobby trivia.
So this week my test infinity miniatures arrived and I have to say that I am both excited and disappointed at the same time. Excited because the sculpts are fantastic, which is something Infinity have always been known for. But disappointed because they are still metal miniatures. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with metal miniatures but I think they are much harder to work with than plastic. And it’s surprising how different they are to work with. I’m old enough to remember when metal was all we had to work with and I can’t believe how spoiled we are now with the quality of plastic and 3D resin that is available to us. The last few minis I have been working on from Puppets War have required nearly no cleaning at all. A few spots where supports have been and that’s it, and all it takes to clean them up with a sharp knife to trim them up. All done in a few seconds. But going back to metal minis and that is not an options. There have mould lines that you have to deal with and they are often in hard to reach places. Additionally they aren’t as easy to clean up, needing filing or sanding down. But then you also need to make sure the surface is evenly smoot so it won’t show up when you paint over the area. This is especially so when you are looking to push your painting to a higher level. Although I will let you guys be the judge of that statement once I show you the finished product.
I was just going to leave them for a while but the bug of having new shiny things there on the desk and not doing anything with them as just too much for me. So I thought I would have a bit of a closer look at one of them. The cleaning up took me a lot longer than I thought it would but I’m hoping it will be worth it in the long run. Time spent now and all that malarky. But that is all based on the fact that I will have the skill and the patience to really do a good job of the planned colour scheme. But my fall back is going to be that I go with a more traditional colour scheme which I’m reasonably confident I can execute. Also time is on my side on this one because Corvus have just announced that the release date for N5 has been pushed back a bit so that is more time for me get a test piece painted up. One thing I do need to sort out is how I’m going to base them. My thinking at the moment is that I would like to go with winter effect type of base. I think it will be a nice contrast to the colour scheme I want to try, and I don’t think I’ve really used winter bases before so it will be a nice change for me.
Once the mini was cleaned up and built I was going to leave it there so that I could have a fresh run at it in a week or so. But once again the shiny, shiny took over and I ended up priming it and adding a base colour. I could have carried on but I was conscious that I wanted to have something finished to show you this week. Keeping up that fully painted streak for at least a few more weeks. So Mr Infinity got put to one side and I focused on what I was going to be able to share with you this week.
And what I have been working on this week means I’m afraid to say is that I’m going to be bringing you another grot. Or to be more accurate a Go Bot in the form of a banner waver for the emperor Ork. I needed a quick win to have something finished for you this week and this is was the mini I went for. Mainly because it was easy to finish in the time I had and also because it boxes off the work on the Ork Emperor. He just looked lonely on his own and needed this herald so no one forgets how magnificent he is. I’ve used the same colours for this guy as I did for the Ork emperor himself in the form of a dirty gold with the red, blue and yellow highlights. All the colours fitting in with my existing orcs and the go bot being and extension of the boss. They do look very good alongside each other. The colours work but there is also something about the disparity in size that I also think makes them work really well together. But what do you think.
You can see more Ork miniatures at my gallery here.
But that isn’t all I have been working. I have made a lot of progress and a new squad of Ork boys but I just haven’t got them finished. They are nearly their but I’ve just run out of time to get them finished. That and the fact that I’m still waiting for one of their weapons to turn up. I have to say though I’ve had a bit of production line running this week and have been quite happy with how I’ve dealt with things. This is the first time in a while I’ve tried to work on a full squad in one go and whilst it’s been boring at times, painting the same colour over and over again. I’ve stuck to the task and whilst I’ve not been the fastest painter, I’ve not lost the mojo at any point. I’m just a slow painter and I need to come to terms with that. And accept it when I’m planning what work I can get done in the time I have. But the more I do the faster I feel I’m getting. I’m never going to a speed painter but I should be able to get a little bit more done each week.
For next week I’m going to carry on working on the Ork squad and get that as close to completion as possible. If the weapons tern up in time then I should have them ready to share with you. I always have more grots in the pipe line so that could also be an option for next week’s update. There is also the outside possibility that I can get some quality time with Mr Infinity to see if I can get this test piece finished for you. I’m trying to paint it to a higher standard than I’ve done before but at the same time being aware that whatever I achieve I have to be able to replicate. No point trying to play a game with an army of one. The real key will be knowing when to say enough is enough, then letting things develop as paint more and get used to the new techniques I’m trying.
Anyway that is all I have time for this week. I hope you are keeping well and enjoying whatever hobby time you have. Until next week keep safe and I hope to see you all back here for the next update on Saturday morning.
