snitchythedog

 I was perusing Etsy looking at things that have nothing to do with my hobbies, as you do, and found a couple of interesting finds that might work for terrain.  

First are a couple of stamp punches.  They are for metal working and only put me out about seven pounds a piece.  Initially I thought about using them on Foamex. 

Some photos. 

First, I tried it on Foamex.  

As you can see they did not come out so well so I think it will need to be used on either Fimo or some other putty.  

The second thing I picked up is a shot plate.  They are used to make small pieces out of gold/silver for jewelry.  If you are looking to pick one up they will run about twenty pounds for a single item and about ten pounds for each detail past that. 

In this instance I used some green stuff though I could use some lead fishing weights.  Using some vasiline to keep the green stuff from sticking to the mold I just pressed some into the details.  Here are some photos.  

 

 Morning,

I tend to horde small bits that can be used for terrain.  If I do not have a hobby purchase in mind for the month, I tend to stock up on bits that I already have so I don't run out.  It is not a compulsion and I can stop at any time.  Really!  Well maybe....

Last December I signed on for a kickstarter for Dead Animal Bits by Pete the Wargamer.  What initially sold me was the deer antlers and feathers that were included in his design.  He had partnered with Wargames Atlantic for production and the Kickstarter was funded.  

I just received my pledge and I am fairly impressed. 

First some photos with a break down of what is on the sprue.  

Layout of the sprue with a 25mm based model for scale.

From the top.  Small rams horns and a shark tooth.  Hands and heads on hooks. Hands on spikes and medium smooth rams horns.  Large smooth rams horns and a large birds skull.  Large ribs and spine and the bottom jaw of a megladon.

From the top.  Medium and small bull horns.  More hands on spikes and small deer antlers.  More hands on spikes and medium deer antlers.  Large deer antlers.  Medium shark jaws and some loose shark teeth.  

From the top.  Megladon top jaw and feathers.  Large bull horns and feathers.  Heads on hooks and medium ribs and spines. Hands on spikes.  Small femurs a sharks tooth, a feather and some tiny birds skulls.

From the top.  medium sharks jaws and large bulls horns.  Large rams horns and a large bird skull.  More hands on spikes and medium rams horns.  More hands on spikes and large femurs.  

 Overall I am pretty happy.  Here are a couple possible problematic points for the sprue.  

As with all wargame miniatures and bits, there is quite a bit of scale creep.  As you can see the hands on spikes here are quite large.  Not as big as GW zombie hands but still large in scale.  Feathers are also quite large.  Interestingly enough the small bird skulls in the corner are pretty close to scale as they are tiny.  

The nice thing about the kit is that you generally get three sizes of each type of item.  This allows you to choose the appropriate size horn for the head of your model.  If you are interested in hands and heads, each one on the sprue is different so you get a pretty good spread. 

Just a quick scale photo of the medium shark jaws.  I am unlikely to use them but it was an interesting addition.  I only wish they had included small versions.  

Once they finish fulfillment, distribution and sales will be managed by Wargames Atlantic so they should be available all over the world.   

Overall, I am quite happy.  As with all kits, there are parts that I am unlikely to use but on the whole it is a very worthwhile addition to the bits-box. 

 A quick review of the Scenery Forge Wargames Accessories mold and a comparison with Hirst Arts. 

Scenery Forge

I ordered the mold from their Etsy Store.  It arrived within what I would call a reasonable time frame from mainland Europe.  

First thing to notice is that there are mold cavities on four faces of the mold.  

Main face

Side 1 weapons
Side 2 tools and books
Side 3 tools and bowls. 
If you are use to Hirst Arts molds you will see that they are both thinner and smaller. 

There are many more small parts available to be cast than on a comparable Hirst mold.  The downside to this is that there is less structural stability in the mold and some parts can flex.  Some of the small thin parts are also not able to be cast in dental plaster.  They will be able to be cast in resin but will need mold release to protect the silicone mold.  There are also a fair few parts that are cast in halves. 

You can press green stuff and Miliput into the details and get acceptable results.  It takes a bit of work but can be done.  Again, if you are using Milliput you will need something to protect the silicone.     

Here are some cast examples with comparative Hirst Arts parts.  

Barrels and buckets.  Scenery Forge on left and Hirst Arts on the right.  

Boxes and crates.  Hirst arts  on left.  Scenery Forge from the center and right. 
Sacks and small details.  Scenery Forge on the left and Hirst Arts on the right. 
Examples from the sides using it as a press mold. 

My overall impression of the Scenery Forge pieces is that they are usefull for adding to clutter on builds, but some of the pieces are a bit cartoonish as they are oversize.  Generally this will not matter as there is scale creep with items throughout the wargame industry  You can see the differences compared to the Hirst Arts pieces.  The Scenery Forge pieces are a bit chunkier, but you have a much better selection for each type of item.  What I was particularly happy with was the number of pieces with wicker surfaces compared to Hirst.  If you use cast parts mixed with resin, metal and 3D printed pieces, this will be a valuable addition that will add much more variation to the details in your builds.  

Hope you like.

 

A little something that I picked up on sale.  The Mórannach, Beast of Cill Chonn Bog from Mierce Miniatures that they had listed in one of their half off sales.  It was painted almost exclusively with thin washes set down in layers with minimal highlighting.  Used all of the supplied branches to add more roots to the arms and legs.  Added a small tree and a few mushrooms.  Used lots of vegetation on top.  Hope you like. 

 

Some more scale shots and pictures of what I need to work on.  The ship is heroic 28mm.  I will be filing down some faceting on the surface of the ship. 
 Some of the facets. 
 Scale
 Scale
 Scale
 Primus marine pointing
 More primus marine
 Yes he is sexy
 Posing in the cockpit. 
 Pointing at the engine that I am not going to file.  I will use the print lines as a guide for my masking to paint. 
 Engine detail.  I feel it needs more inside. 
 This one too. 
 More Primus marine on the small engine belle
 Marine pointing out faceting that needs sanding out.
More faceting. 

I never bought into the kickstarter when it was running because I do not have a 3d printer.  Proteus 3d Modelling.com has the shuttles for sale so I bit the bullet.  I will be taking better photos with models later. 
Photos taken with a pound.  For those across the pond think a quarter. 



What is am planning on painting it like one of Peter Ellison's creations.  Bright primary colours.  

Just a quick review.  Green Stuff World has brought out three new mould for details and having picked up two I figured I would share my experiences.