The greatest ever single day for British athletics

Mrs Zzzzz and I were only there for the morning.  We watched the women's heptathletes long jump and spear chuck the women's pole vault heats and men's 100m heats.  So was actually there, watching Jessica Ennis strive towards her Gold Medal and can put my hand on my heart (on the outside of my chest, not directly onto my heart, that would sting) and say I have seen Insane Bolt run 100m at the Olympics, even if it was just a heat.

This is the view from our seats.  It's less than 1 minute of footage taken on my mobile phone, but might give you some idea of what it was like.  Coming up the stairs and emerging onto the stands is an awe inspring expereince in itself.  The level of noise when Miss Ennis and the other two Brit girls got up to do their stuff was incredible.  I spent five hours of my life sat on the edge of my expensive plastic seat, close to tears.  80,000 people all cheering for the same thing is quite an experience.  Especially when the home crowd's darling steps up.

This is view of the Pole Vaulting area.  I think I was trying to actually capture some of the action.  Was it worth the wait/money/bitching in the press ?  Yes.  Am I going to Rio ?  I'm seriously considering it.  Was London paralysed by the Olympics ? No.  It was well organised and ran better than an ordinary day.  Our first visit was to the Dressage stage of the three day eventing.  There were extra hi viz pink signs all over the underground and main line stations.  There was a cadre of Olympic volunteers, all of whom were enthisastic and well briefed, to ensure that the spectators got to the right place.  And G4S' new subtle camo uniforms looked very smart. 

I am impressed it went so well, from an organisational as well as results POV. 

Casing about for inspiration

Continuing on from the 'on the workbench' theme. Part of the problem with beginning all your projects at once is that you then overcrowd your workspace and run out room.  Sort of painting yourself into a corner. 

 This is it having picked up the 'Grants Spectres' and their bits and thus creating a modicum of space in the middle.  What I need to do now is to use that space to enable me to clear the rest of this up.  Historically, what has happened is I've simply thrown down the next idea to flit into my head, thus the back of the work bench, towards the wall, is in fact lettered with six years worth of dust, off cuts, spider webs, dead flies, odd arms and so on.  The actual MDF workbench itself will be replaced with what is currently my kitchen work surface in early October.  I'd just like to thank my dad for the help he has no idea that he is soon to render.  

 Sorry, forgot to rotate it.  The shelves behind the computer deak might look like a treasure trove of raw materials, modelling supplies etc.  And in one sense, they are.  If I gave them to you, for instance, you'd probably come up with all sorts of ideas for them.  But I see a number of unfinished projects - Void Dragons (used to be Exodites, but I bought IA11), some more vehicles for IG armies and a number of terrain peices - large buildings (ie several packs of foamcore and lots of left over bits of Imperial City).  I am working on a grand plan.  It really is a grand plan and there's years of work here before Devos IV is finished. 

 One of the best and worst things is having large quantities of sprues with half the bits used.  It does mean that half of the bits are unused and therefore fodder for more projects (once I have bodies and legs for my dark mechanicus preatorians, I have more than enough IG heavy weapons to build my clanking army of doom).  But there are loads of them and they have to live somewhere.  The top picture shows boxes under the bench.  Lots of sprues there.  And elsewhere, too.

They get everywhere.  If only I could finish all of my imagined projects, I could fill my wheelie bin the rest of the bits. 

300 Humpbacks (AFVs, not whales)

Dai asked how they size up next to the Chimera.  Mine wear an IG auto cannon, smoke dischargers and a searchlight because I've got them as counts as salamanders.  I suppose they could stand in for Chimerae.  If you're not playing 'friendly' games I could see someone complaining as they are a different shape and therefore must surely be easier to hide and therefore you are cheating, but I suspect such an opponent may well outright refuse to play someone who isn't using 100% GW.  (what is all this about FW suddenly being 'allowed' ?  They have always been made for the game and accompanied by 40K rules ffs.)

Another shot to compare with a Chimera.  Slimmer, longer, but more or less the same height, Including the (obviously unmanned) turret.

Showing the Green and Green scheme off.  I will eventually put another green on (there is a third green on there, but I think it's the same as the base colour and therefore more or less a shading colour so subtle only polinating insects will be able to see it).

Incremental Progress.

The hunchbacks.  Under coated.  Humbrol acrylic grey on top, chaos black underneath.  Hoping that his provides shade for later coats.

Base coated.  Shiney in the fots as it was still wet.  Had a look at them since in it all looks very military.  Might try a little airbrush green and green camo, like the wolverines, against whom it will likely be direct competition.  Going to go with fairly nuteral colourschemes and markings on a lot of up coming vehicles, as then they can end up on either side, to balance things out a bit.

"on the workbench" (the curse of the butterfly mind)

Some bloggers out there do show us what they have 'on their workbench' from time to time.  Which is always interesting, providing us, the audience with a frame of reference for our own efforts.  Those who've been to DevosIV will know it's boundless wastes and limitless vistas (it's a double garage - woo-hoo !).  However, as ever, my crap expands to fill the available space.  The only things actually on the workbench are "Grant's Spectres", shown above. The rest of this stuff is scattered across time and space my garage.

These boys are another squad of flecktarn panzergrenadiers for PVP to paint.  These and their unassembled buddies have maxmini torsos to make them extra, extra special.  Sticking GW plastic to maxmini resin appears to be a little tricky, but then whoever said playing with toy soldiers was supposed to be easy ?

Flitting around the garage brings us to this project, which is a DKK armoured squadron (tank company).  If I ever feel a little bit 'meh', I open the box and bask in the rays it gives off.  Trying hard to resist starting it until the ASL armoured squadron is finished - one more troop of 3 LRMBT to go !

Devils in skirts.  The edge of the zip lock bag you can see there contains all of the Tam O'Shanter wearing heads for them.  Cadian doner bits are in the boxes under the workbench.  

Vostroyan command chimera.  Needs three las guns transplanted to each side.  The las guns are between the skirts and flecktarn bits on another table that isn't supposed to be a workbench. 

Three two Thunderer conversions.  Again, the bits for the third are in the boxes under the workbench.  Ho hum.  

Three Anocenti Humpback vehicles (counts as Salamanders). These have needed painting for months. 

On the shelf above, there are five more mid turret chimera to replace the old ones the DKK surrendered to the ASL.  I had a burst of energy and threw these together ages ago.  They need to go into the box of DKK armour once they have been lovingly base coated. 

 Ecclistical repository, from basillica bits.  Sat on top of the tumble drier.  It's been like that for about four years.

 Church from the pegasus kit.  Its been like this for three years ish.

 Sepulchre of heroes (the statue and tower-y thing are just 'there'; they are not part of it).  More unfinished terrain.

 Church-y bell tower (snipers nest) thingy.  Needs finishing.

Promethium refinary that the tower is currently balanced on.  Also never finished.

There is more stuff; dark mechanicus, a sort of chaosy walker, some Cadian medics, my DE (weeps) and some more Edlar bits; all things that I have begun and not really got anywhere with.  What I really need is a plan.  So I'm going to consider what the end point is; where I want to be with all of this.  And then work backwards.

All I have to do now is cogitate on what that end point is.  And then work out where I am now.  And then break the in-between bits down into parcels of work.  Its just like being at work (sighs and slopes off to put the kettle on). 

Very nice.

Pirate Viking Painting: Agents of the Inquisition: Greetings all, today we have another in the range of Imperial Agents that I am painting for a client. They are designed for no particular a...

Originally, the AOBR termie was in blue.  So for some reason, I had imagined the finished product would be blue, so this colourscheme was a slight surprise.  The Black/White/Red thing looks good, though.

Iron Broo

 Just in case Dai thought I was ignoring him.  Sorry about the fots, these were snatched in between storms.  These guys listened to too much thrash metal as youngsters and this is how they turned out. 

 I'm thinking of a sort of dirty albino colcour scheme for these boys, with their hotch potch of gear painted in the colourschemes of the orignial owners, just to reinforce their rapatous nature.

Dodgy non-codex wouldn't be allowed in a GT weapon options.  Well, a flamer with a CCW might.  But really, who is going to put a CCW on a flamer ?  These bad boys of course !  They are easily marine stature and are looking forward to putting 'Kill' into Kill Team.