I spent that last few evenings last week cleaning and preparing all the bits. On Saturday I sat down to actually do some assembly. I've had some success in the past using greenstuff to join metal together - since it's slightly flexible when it sets, it seems to survive a bit better than a superglue join.
It also works really well to fill the gaps, and gave me a chance to try out my new greenstuff sculpting tools!
The first rule of working with greenstuff is that you only need half that much. It doesn't matter how much you use, you always end up wasting half of it!
I couldn't get a sold join for the arms, so in the end I decided to try pinning them. The only option I had was to pin the arms to each other - I mounted one arm, then drilled into the shoulder joint, stuck in the brass rod and the drilled into the other arm. I ended up getting the alignment a little wring, but a bit more greenstuff cleaned it up so you wouldn't notice.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Super Secret Project Part II: Putting It All BACK Together
After carefully assembling all the bits, I went to move the model and managed to knock a part completely off. I didn't even bump it very hard, and I would have thought it would have been one of the stronger joints.
My faith in the greenstuff bonds has been shaken. I tested the other joints, but they all seem to be holding as firmly as I would have expected. So maybe it was just that one.
Regardless, I had another go at pinning. I made the mistake of gluing the pin before I trimmed it to the correct size, and then couldn't get my cutters close (well, not without clipping bits off the model at the same time). It wasn't a big problem though, as there was lots of room on the other side. It did mean that it took me a while to drill a hole deep enough.
After two goes at it, I'm pretty happy with pinning. It's not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, and it does seem to make a really strong join.
My faith in the greenstuff bonds has been shaken. I tested the other joints, but they all seem to be holding as firmly as I would have expected. So maybe it was just that one.
Regardless, I had another go at pinning. I made the mistake of gluing the pin before I trimmed it to the correct size, and then couldn't get my cutters close (well, not without clipping bits off the model at the same time). It wasn't a big problem though, as there was lots of room on the other side. It did mean that it took me a while to drill a hole deep enough.
After two goes at it, I'm pretty happy with pinning. It's not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, and it does seem to make a really strong join.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Super Secret Project Part II
I thought I'd be nice and organised (and take advantage of Maelstrom Games big sale) and get what I needed for my next Super Secret Project. Unfortunately, then there was a big volcano in Europe, which delayed all the mail. So my package didn't arrive until the end of last week. That still gives me a lot longer than I had last time though!
This will be the first time I've worked with a fully metal, multi part model, so we'll see how it all goes!
This will be the first time I've worked with a fully metal, multi part model, so we'll see how it all goes!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Learning to Play Twilight Imperium Without the Hassle
I've always wanted to get Twilight Imperium. Aside from the price, the only real reason I've never picked it up is because I'm fairly certain that I would never actually get to play it. Finding 3 or 4 people to give up 6 hours for one game seems a bit unlikely, let alone playing it enough to get the hang of it!
Rich pointed me towards this today. It's an online tutorial taking you through how to play Twilight Imperium! All without having to find a whole Sunday free.
The only problem now is that I'm starting to try and justify to myself why it would be okay to buy...
Rich pointed me towards this today. It's an online tutorial taking you through how to play Twilight Imperium! All without having to find a whole Sunday free.
The only problem now is that I'm starting to try and justify to myself why it would be okay to buy...
Monday, April 26, 2010
ANZAC Day Gaming
The ANZAC weekend was a pretty full-on family weekend, so there wasn't any hobby time. We did have M staying with us from Saturday, which meant I actually did get some gaming in!
Rich kindly left us Settlers of Catan, so I was finally able to show K what it was like. She didn't hate it, but she was underwhelmed.
"Why would you play this when you could play Dominion?"
"Maybe because Dominion won't be invented for another 10 years"
We agreed that it would probably take a few more goes to get the hang of it, and K is willing to try it again. So it wasn't a total loss. Oh, and I won, but that's not surprising. It was a fairly close game, mostly because I carefully missed giving myself access to any wood.
K and I decided that M might enjoy Dominion, so we gave that a go. Much to my surprise M liked it so much that she wanted to play it the next night instead of Shadows Over Camelot. We each managed to win a game, which is good. Since we were playing with the standard beginner decks, I tried out a couple of new strategies, both of which failed totally.
Rich kindly left us Settlers of Catan, so I was finally able to show K what it was like. She didn't hate it, but she was underwhelmed.
"Why would you play this when you could play Dominion?"
"Maybe because Dominion won't be invented for another 10 years"
We agreed that it would probably take a few more goes to get the hang of it, and K is willing to try it again. So it wasn't a total loss. Oh, and I won, but that's not surprising. It was a fairly close game, mostly because I carefully missed giving myself access to any wood.
K and I decided that M might enjoy Dominion, so we gave that a go. Much to my surprise M liked it so much that she wanted to play it the next night instead of Shadows Over Camelot. We each managed to win a game, which is good. Since we were playing with the standard beginner decks, I tried out a couple of new strategies, both of which failed totally.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Character Creation: Vampire the Masquerade
I'm a little behind with this, so let's get into it!
The Game: Vampire: The Masquerade (2nd Ed)
The Publisher: White-Wolf Games
Degree of Familiarity: Lots
Books Being Used : Just the core book
Step One: Concept
He's an author. He had some success while he was alive - literature, or at least something close to it - and so far has found that he can still keep most of his former life happening. Of course, that would be really annoying for all the other players - "I sit at home and write some more!" - so he keeps finding himself pulled more and more into Kindred politics.
Brujah and Toreador are the obvious choices for his clan, but I think I'll go for Brujah partly because it's slightly different from the standard leather jacket rocker, and partly because I think it would be more fun.
You know what, I don't remember the Brujah clan weakness. Oh yeah, they're the angry ones.
There are a few Natures I'd like, but I think I'll go with Architect because it will tie in with the "getting involved with politics" thing, but I'll go for Curmudgeon as his Demeanor.
Step Two: Attributes
It's tempting to make Social his primary group, but I think I have to go with Mental - Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4. Since Appearance is always a dump stat, I'm going to make it 3, which makes Charisma 2 and Manipulation 3. Lastly I'll got for 2 across the board in Physical.
Step Three: Abilities
Okay, 13/9/5 split between Talents, Skills and Knowledges. He's a writer, so he'll need Computer 2 and Linguistics 2. He can also have a point in Investigation, Bureaucracy, Law, Science and Finance I guess.
He can drive, so Drive 1. I'll give him Etiquette 2, Repair 1 (he lives on his own, so knows how to fix stuff) and Security 1 (random book research).
Acting 2, Alertness 2, Empathy 2, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 3
Hmm, that split didn't work out how I was expecting, but that's cool. I've got 3 points left in Talents, so I'll go for a point in Brawl and 2 in Dodge.
Step Four: Advantages
3 points in Disciplines - 1 Celerity and 2 Presence.
5 Backgrounds - Fame 2, Resources 2, Contacts 1. I want more Contacts, so I might need to come back. Yes, I am not going to take any points in Generation.
Virtues - Conscience 3, Self-Control 4, Courage 3
Step Five: Finishing Touches
Willpower is equal to my Courage, so 3. Hmmm...
Humanity is Conscience + Self-Control, which is 7, so about right.
Starting Bloodpood: 8 (actually, I rolled a 1 but that's a lame number to start at)
Okay, now I've got 15 Freebie Points to spend. I want 2 more dots in Contacts and 2 in Status. I'll bump my Willpower up to 6. Actually, I think I can bump my Courage up to 4, which has the same effect on my Willpower. Either way, that leaves me with 5 points. So I might just bump his Perception to 4.
And that gives us our mildly attractive, reasonably witty author, who I will name Charlie Grey.
He was about 30 when he was embraced 10 years ago, and has managed to publish one novel since then. Charlie's a bit of a loner, but more by circumstance than nature - he likes people (and people generally like him), but often feels like an observer looking in. This natural impartiality helped him defuse a potential Anarch uprising. During a fiery argument between the Prince's lieutenants and the Anarch leader, he blurted out some thoughts that made it possible for both parties to back down without losing face.
Since then, he's found himself somehow the unofficial peace maker between the two factions. The Anarchs see him as one of the Prince's lackeys, but at least worth listening to. he Prince and his court assume Charlie's sire is pulling his strings, or he's just an Anarch with slightly better manners. Either way, it's a pretty dangerous tightrope Charlie's walking.
The Game: Vampire: The Masquerade (2nd Ed)
The Publisher: White-Wolf Games
Degree of Familiarity: Lots
Books Being Used : Just the core book
Step One: Concept
He's an author. He had some success while he was alive - literature, or at least something close to it - and so far has found that he can still keep most of his former life happening. Of course, that would be really annoying for all the other players - "I sit at home and write some more!" - so he keeps finding himself pulled more and more into Kindred politics.
Brujah and Toreador are the obvious choices for his clan, but I think I'll go for Brujah partly because it's slightly different from the standard leather jacket rocker, and partly because I think it would be more fun.
You know what, I don't remember the Brujah clan weakness. Oh yeah, they're the angry ones.
There are a few Natures I'd like, but I think I'll go with Architect because it will tie in with the "getting involved with politics" thing, but I'll go for Curmudgeon as his Demeanor.
Step Two: Attributes
It's tempting to make Social his primary group, but I think I have to go with Mental - Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4. Since Appearance is always a dump stat, I'm going to make it 3, which makes Charisma 2 and Manipulation 3. Lastly I'll got for 2 across the board in Physical.
Step Three: Abilities
Okay, 13/9/5 split between Talents, Skills and Knowledges. He's a writer, so he'll need Computer 2 and Linguistics 2. He can also have a point in Investigation, Bureaucracy, Law, Science and Finance I guess.
He can drive, so Drive 1. I'll give him Etiquette 2, Repair 1 (he lives on his own, so knows how to fix stuff) and Security 1 (random book research).
Acting 2, Alertness 2, Empathy 2, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 3
Hmm, that split didn't work out how I was expecting, but that's cool. I've got 3 points left in Talents, so I'll go for a point in Brawl and 2 in Dodge.
Step Four: Advantages
3 points in Disciplines - 1 Celerity and 2 Presence.
5 Backgrounds - Fame 2, Resources 2, Contacts 1. I want more Contacts, so I might need to come back. Yes, I am not going to take any points in Generation.
Virtues - Conscience 3, Self-Control 4, Courage 3
Step Five: Finishing Touches
Willpower is equal to my Courage, so 3. Hmmm...
Humanity is Conscience + Self-Control, which is 7, so about right.
Starting Bloodpood: 8 (actually, I rolled a 1 but that's a lame number to start at)
Okay, now I've got 15 Freebie Points to spend. I want 2 more dots in Contacts and 2 in Status. I'll bump my Willpower up to 6. Actually, I think I can bump my Courage up to 4, which has the same effect on my Willpower. Either way, that leaves me with 5 points. So I might just bump his Perception to 4.
And that gives us our mildly attractive, reasonably witty author, who I will name Charlie Grey.
He was about 30 when he was embraced 10 years ago, and has managed to publish one novel since then. Charlie's a bit of a loner, but more by circumstance than nature - he likes people (and people generally like him), but often feels like an observer looking in. This natural impartiality helped him defuse a potential Anarch uprising. During a fiery argument between the Prince's lieutenants and the Anarch leader, he blurted out some thoughts that made it possible for both parties to back down without losing face.
Since then, he's found himself somehow the unofficial peace maker between the two factions. The Anarchs see him as one of the Prince's lackeys, but at least worth listening to. he Prince and his court assume Charlie's sire is pulling his strings, or he's just an Anarch with slightly better manners. Either way, it's a pretty dangerous tightrope Charlie's walking.
Shopping at Milsims
Rich came to stay with us last week. Since it's now just down the road, on Saturday morning we trekked off to visit Milsims!
Rich walked away with armfuls of stuff (including StarCraft, Broodwar and the Typhon promotion cards, along with some posters and stuff all for only $150). I was hoping to get Dominion for mum's birthday present (they were sold out, but I managed to find a copy - on sale! - at Mindgames in the city), but ended up getting a copy of Smallworld.
I'd read about Smallworld when it first came out last year. I thought it sounded okay, but I wasn't grabbed. But looking at it again, it looked like just the sort of game K and M might like to play. And when I noticed it could work with 2 players, I was sold.
The box is as pretty as everything from Days of Wonder - the guy in the shop said he wasn't a fan of the cover art, but I like the style.
Inside were lots of cardboard tokens to punch out. I was impressed to discover not only were there slots for everything in the box, but there was even a removable container with a lit for some of the tokens!
K decided that I wasn't allowed to even look at the rules until we sit down to play it for the first time - the theory being that that way I won't have a head start on anyone. So I'll report back when I know more about what's inside!
Rich walked away with armfuls of stuff (including StarCraft, Broodwar and the Typhon promotion cards, along with some posters and stuff all for only $150). I was hoping to get Dominion for mum's birthday present (they were sold out, but I managed to find a copy - on sale! - at Mindgames in the city), but ended up getting a copy of Smallworld.I'd read about Smallworld when it first came out last year. I thought it sounded okay, but I wasn't grabbed. But looking at it again, it looked like just the sort of game K and M might like to play. And when I noticed it could work with 2 players, I was sold.
The box is as pretty as everything from Days of Wonder - the guy in the shop said he wasn't a fan of the cover art, but I like the style.
Inside were lots of cardboard tokens to punch out. I was impressed to discover not only were there slots for everything in the box, but there was even a removable container with a lit for some of the tokens!
K decided that I wasn't allowed to even look at the rules until we sit down to play it for the first time - the theory being that that way I won't have a head start on anyone. So I'll report back when I know more about what's inside!
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