Ork Fightas at Target

I was at the local Target this afternoon looking at Lego, and I discovered something. Target have just signed an exclusive deal to sell very cheap Ork Fightas. They don't know this. But it is true. They think they are part of some 'Rescue Team' cheap action figure line. But they are not. They are Ork Fightas. And they cost $14, and come with three free figures (one of whom, the Insane Bobble Head Vet Lady has clearly seen things you wouldn't believe, which has lead to her head coming unstuck and spinning randomly), a giant hound, a boat and an ATV. The wheels on the ATV looks useful. The boat might end up as terrain. The figures are fairly useless unless you know any small children who are easily amused and can handle the Insane Bobble Head Vet Lady and her thousand yard stare.

Rescue Team is clearly just a ruse used to avoid the agents of the imperium catching on to this Orky arms deal...

Look at that engine. Only and ork could think such a thing was right.

The underside is pretty hollow, but with a little plasticard this should b e no problem.

 So if you want a $14 Ork Fighta, get down to Target today to avoid disappointment. It's probably only Target Australia, but you never know.

Just, you know, avoid the Insane Bobble Head Vet Lady.

Modeling For Hippos Ishoo Twenty: Iron Squig Pattern Killa Kan

A few weeks ago, I signed up for the 40K Freindly at Cancon 2018, leading Waaagh! Snaggatoof, the most filthy-rich Bad Moon warband ever to realise that dentistry is clearly where the money is at in the Ork economy, and capitalise on that knowledge to fund as many mad meks as possible to build a mighty warband. After spending some time messing about with army lists, I ended up with something I liked. Of course, not everything in is existed at the time. So I made myself a checklist (you can see it on the side bar) and got to work. One of the first things I needed was to build my three Killa Kans. These have been lurking in my cupboard since the days of Clan Skitterklaw, my WFB skaven army. My plan involved making rat ogres using their parts, but never bore fruit. Therefore, they have achieved their destiny of being made as what they were designed as... almost. Because I suddenly realised it was possible to make a sort of mecha-squig from a Killa Kan kit. So it had to be.

Each Iron Squig pattern Killa Kan uses as many parts as possible from the Killa Kan kit, along with some raw materials. You could build one using only Killa Kan parts - the extra bits are decorative, not vital.

But how hard is it to convert a Killa Kan into an Iron Squig?

Hark! A Grot!

And there you have it! The mighty Iron Squig pattern Killa Kan with Kustom Mega Blasta, all ready for paint!

CanCon For Hippos

I have just put my name down for the 40K Friendly at Cancon 2018, leading the massed greenskins of Waaagh! Snaggatoof; richest of the Bad Moon tribes (although I feel this particular version is from early in his rise to riches, before the real over indulgence and opulence set in...) I have spent some time this morning hammering away on army lists which seem about right, but need testing. They are mostly based on what I have and what I plan to build next, although disappointingly, I couldn't fit the Grot Tanks since the tournament is using patrol detachments, therefore only two fast attack choices. Grot Tanks don't really feel like fast attack, but they're certainly not heavy support, and I can't fit them in with the more important stuff, so out they go. Pity - they're the only vehicles I actually have painted.
What does this mean?
It means I have to do the following:

1. Finish painting Blingboss Snaggatoof himself (a conversion based on the chap from Black Reach)
2. Finish painting a mob of Black Reach slugga boyz
3. Paint the Deff Koptas
4. Paint the buggies
5. Build and paint four bikers, including a nob who will be temporarily promoted to warboss
6. Build and paint a trukk
7. Build and paint three killa kans (I've got the kits, and have had them since time immemorial...)
8. Time permitting, build a table of Orky terrains.

So, in the coming months you can look forward to some more orky madness...

In which we mourn the loss of a landmark

Metro Hobbies on Swanston Street, Melbourne has been my favourite hobby shop since they renovated a few years back. Before then, I didn't have a favourite hobby shop, they were all equal in my eyes. Now Metro Hobbies (formerly Victorian Hobby Centre) is closing down, having been compulsorily acquired as part of the cross-city railway tunnel project. This sucks for a number of reasons.
1: As I said - favourite hobby shop.
2: There are only two hobby shops in the CBD anyway, so now there will be only one. Like the Highlander. Only a hobby shop under Flinder's Street Station called Hearn's.
3: Going to Victorian Hobby Centre was a massive part of my childhood - even before I was a hobbyist I used to get dragged there by my brother, and I bought some of my first models there. (I think I bought my very first at Hobby Place, which closed years ago).
Alas, alack, oh fie, oh misery and oh bugger. We shall miss Metro hobbies.

On the plus side - Stock liquidation sale!
On the minus side, this was the first chance I had to get there, so almost everything is gone since the sale's been on for a few weeks now.
On the plus side - Tamiya Toyota model AB Phaeton - or as I like to call it - WARBOSS SNAGGATOOF'S PIMP MOBILE! Watch out for updates on this project in the days to come.

GeekFest 2018 Paint+Take Survey

Once again shall I run Paint+Take at GeekFest in 2018. Yet there is a difference! In line with the prevailing preference of the people for DEMOCRACY, I shall no longer be forcing my choice of miniatures to paint upon the public like a despot - this year there shall be a VOTE! Yes! You, the people can choose which miniatures you paint AND take at Paint+Take 2018! And all by filling in this simple survey! Go forth and bask in the glories of democracy at work!

MFH ninteen: Orktillery part wun - Lobba.

Well, the banner's a total lie now, what with it being the middle of August, but I'm still scratch building 40K orky stuff, so it's sticking around a bit longer anyway. I got thinking about orktilery last week - big gunz and mek gunz. Big gunz are another of those odd areas of the Ork range where the minis are still old hang-overs from 3rd edition, and metal to boot. Not as old as buggies, but pretty old. And only the kannon is still available anyway. So I decided to rectify the situation by building a lobba or three. Because that's just how I roll.

Here's Grot to explain things...

Forgot to get a shot here - I've started to use a pair of dividers from a mathematical drawing set to scribe small circles - you know the ones, basically like a pair of compasses but with two points instead of one point and a pencil. If you dig one point in at the center and spin them around several times you can scribe a line into the plastic deep enough to snap the circle out or finish the cut with a knife. These were done with a cheaper somewhat shaky example as I left my good one at home and bought a cheap replacement from a newsagents to go in my travelling tool kit. Which is a thing I have. What do you mean you don't have one?

And there you have it, Hippo Fans! It took me about a week to build all three of these, and that's working around social commitments, work and so forth. I've also started work on the other flavours of Big Gun, so keep an eye out for those. 

You'll notice that the work bench changes a few times - this is the natural upshot of my working on them at home and at The Hoodling's Hole amidst the players of Battletech and those who say 'I really should do some modelling,' glue two plastic pieces together and then go to sleep. Light weights.