Micro Art Studio Status Markers #1 Review

Status Markers #1(5)

Another day, another review!

Playing competitively I am finding not having status markers in games a bit of a problem at times, more for my opponent then myself. A stunned vehicle shoots, a immobilized vehicle moves, and to be clear it’s all due to the frenetic pace of the game.

Looking for a paintable objective marker I quickly found the Micro Art Studio objective marker, unpainted resin, which allows me color match my armies. At $6.45 for 5 they were a bit pricy but looked amazing. I lucked out at my last event with a Warstore booth having stock and was able to purchase 4 sets of them avoiding international shipping delays and time.

MaxMini Large Shoulder pads (10) Review

Without wasting too much time on the reasons (found here) I am looking for a good shoulder pads to save time with upcoming conversion projects.

After a disappointing first dip into the market, I looked forward to the MaxMini shoulderpads. First the 10 pack includes x5 sets, and it appears to ship with one of each of their five styles.  You can however specially request one or more styles per pack per purchase which is a nice option. 

I again went to eBay, mainly to avoid international shipping times. Also I picked up two sets, just in case, at $8.50 per. The seller repacked the bits to cut down on space, but I hear MaxMini has great packaging.

As listed there were 5 different sets. No mold release (unlike most Forge World I have purchased!) The detail work is nice, but as the photos reveal they lack crispness. Additionally unlike the Micro Art Studios I found many defects in both packages. Almost all of them could be cleaned up pretty quickly.

Of the five styles only two fit well, with a breakdown from left to right.

1) Would not fit at all, would need a decent amount of material removed.

2) Really tight fit, even heated the crown of the pad cracked when I attempted to spread it.

3) Fit perfectly, a little thin on material. (First picture)

4) Would not fit, rides a little high (Second picture), a good look however.

5) Good fit, seems a bit small.

Great second foray into market, but I think I will have to keep looking for the perfect bit.

3 out of 5 stars.

Micro Art Studio Shoulder Pad T.R. Review

Micro Art Studio Shoulder Pad T.R



Let me start by saying I have been trying to find a good set of Pre to Mid Heresy shoulder pads to help me short cut the conversion process for second and third wave of my “Tech-Terminators”. Originally scratch built from plasticard, attached to the torso instead of the arms, they are larger then anything else I have seen so I knew this was going to be a challenge.

Purchasing the MicroArt Terminator Scale shoulder pads through eBay for $9.50 from a popular seller I was pleased to get them in just 2 days... 

Excellent packaging, great looking blister, so I was pretty excited.

Once opened a I noticed yhey were well cast, clean without mold lines. No mold release. However a huge problem became apparent..

Take a second to look at the photos and let me know if you see the issue…

Basically Micro-Art Studios released a terminator shoulder pad that not only was cast completely solid, requiring a lot of additional work to prepare for your army, they appear way too small!

Also if I grind out all the needed material, it would force me to remove almost 50% of the material to make a standard terminator arm fit, making the base bit very thin. Clipping the arm is a possibility, but the risk there is you have to be sure on the pose and positioning.

Rating systems are subjective, I understand that..

Looking at it as a whole Micro Art Studios gain points for a excellent looking bit, but loose so much for giving me something that is incomplete and most likely too small for a unconverted terminator, let alone use for my projects.

I’m going to give this 2 out of 5 stars.

The Warstore; Why buying online can be the right choice…

For all the posts complaining about Games Workshop’s price increases, rules we hate, tourneys that go wrong we infrequently take the time to say thank you when something goes right…

This is a long overdue thank you to Joe Latham, and The Warstore.

First let me start with a few important points;

1)Almost every post (including my Finecast rant) focuses on the negative, I figured a positive review would be a nice change of pace.

2) I am no way getting sponsorship from the retailer, The Warstore.

3) Supporting your local FLGS is key, without them we would all be playing in our basements.

Recently I won a good amount of “Warstore Credit” at The Colonial, a GT Qualifier Tournament in NJ. Awesome right? Small problem, I missed the announcement it needed to be used the booth they had in the WHFB / Dealers room while my friend Marc added color commentary to the awards ceremony! Two months later I emailed Joe oblivious to the expiration, asking how to place an order. Rather than tell me I was S**t out of luck, which would not have surprised me, I instead got a nice personalized reply detailing how to still use the credit, and within days I had all of the nice pretty toys I was dreaming of in my hands!

Now if this was the first time I had a good experience with a retailer, regardless of how great, I would be a lot less likely to take the time to say thanks in such a public fashion. This was the THIRD time in less than that many years. The first time with a misspack on a bits order, I got to keep the mistaken shipment and they mailed me out a replacement. The second time last Christmas I ordered some of their Fuzz Box Econo Trays as a gift for a friend. I received the wrong item, and they worked with me going above and beyond to make it perfect and then finally The Colonial gift certificates.

Now again I say it’s important to buy at your local game store, but sometimes they don’t carry everything a large online gaming Mecca like the The Warstore has. Before going to eBay consider looking here.

Yet another Rant about Citadel Finecast... (Part 2)

Not to beat a "Dead Horse" but it appears there was some reason to be concerned with Games Workshop's Finecast..

http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2011/06/24/47913/

I have yet to purchase a single finecast model, due to obvious flaws visable in all the blisters I saw both at my local store (Dreamwizards) and the bunker... And there is not a chance in hell I am going to buy a box set (read techmarine) unless I get to open and inspect it on the spot...



Yet another Rant about Citadel Finecast...

I hate to jump on the bandwagon, and post “my” opinion about Citadel Finecast, Games Workshops “new” product line, but I can’t resist.

This is not about money, danger of working with the material, it’s about QUALITY.

More then a couple times recently I have purchased or won resin Forge World products. The purchased product was either legitimately from ForgeWorld or as a bitz order through one of the couple reputable websites out there filling the need for bits. Either way at least fifty percent of the time I have gotten either a sloppy, fuzzy, warped miscast, or something so covered in flash it takes 10+ minutes just to carefully clean up the ridiculously expensive resin I foolishly purchased hoping for a top shelf product.

Now before you ask, I have emailed Forgeworld, more then once, about the issues I have had. I requesting JUST the miscast bits be replaced, and so far in every instance I have been effectively told to go pound sand.

Taking into account the poor customer service of Forgeworld, the numerous complaints online about the quality, I really have to question the wisdom of converting to a material that has such a history of sloppily produced product.

I think I will let my friends take the plunge, and carefully look at how cleanly the casts are, how much warping there is and finally how much flash has to be removed before I drink the Koolaid.

Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknight Part 5 Post Build.

Dreadknight Post Build Breakdown and FAQ:

To start with, it was allot of fun to build and paint this, and I realize I work better with looming deadlines! Thanks again to Kurt from the Annapolis Games Workshop store.

Constuction Notes:

In general the model goes together smoothly, little to no flash, another excellent, clean new release from Games Workshop. Almost everything "clicks" into place. I built it without instuctions (none were shipped with it) and it took about 3.5 hours, taking alot of time to explore each bit and carefully clean it of flash.

The following points are worth noting however:

Arms – Limited range of motion, infact I had to cut down and replace the “pistons” on both arms to get them in the “at rest” pose I got with my build. You can swing them forward or back about 30 – 45 degrees, up or down a bit less. Overall getting a dynamic pose will require some work. Arms are VERY strong, and will be able to easily magnetized for weapon swaps. If you wanted to go further you could place Ball magnets in the arms and the servo assist arms for a reposable model. The link is for K&J Magnetics, my favorite site to order from.

Ranged Weapons – Good options, only 2 bodies for the 3 different guns, so it will be hard to build all 3 options without making some sacrifices on style, or bitz ordering a 3rd gun body.

Close Combat Weapons – Extra Hands are a plus, the hammer is well designed and it will be easy to convert to a longer haft for all those who want it… However the sword is a flimsy piece of plastic.. It will break quickly and often unless you carefully pin it or pose the Dreadknight like I did where the sword is crossing the body and is supported. The first 11 year old who grabs your model is going to break the sword either way. Very disappointing for such an amazing bit.

Legs – The biggest disappointment of the model is the fact the legs have ZERO possibility for posing striaght out of the box..... NONE! The legs are two piece fixed bits which socket directly into the pelvis into keyed slots. Even though the feet are attached via ball socket there really is no real adjustments you can make unless you changing the facing. Making a Dynamic model “crushing” anything beneath its feet is going to be a several hour conversion process where you have to cut and pin the legs in 2 spots. Additionally the leg to hip socket is fragile. I would suggest pinning it for strength in the construction process. I pin the legs and also “squished” them in together, and using a plastic glue fused the legs to the pelvis for a second stronger point of contact.

All in all I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars, loosing points for limited range of motion, fragile legs and sword and limited conversion possibilities due to it's LARGE size. I think the people want Knight Titans will be happy however.

DakkaDakka / Blog FAQ:

Painting: 

Basecoat:

Boltgun Silver --> Chainmail --> Mithril Silver
Washed with Badab Black in the recesses, and black lined where needed.
Final highlights with watered down Mithril Silver
Highlights:
Gold Highlights were Shinning Gold --> Burnished Gold --> Mithril Silver.

Details:

Decals are from the Witch hunters sheet, an example can be found here

Plasticard was the 1/8th inch tubes from Plastruct

Book bit was from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Vehicle upgrade sprue.



Review of the P3 Wet Palette

Review of the P3 Wet Palette

      Being newer to the hobby, I am always looking for new techniques and products to help speed the painting process and help me save time and money. P3’s Wet Palette looked like it would do both. It retails for $20.00 and was suggested to me by Matthew at Games and Stuff as a good tool for hobbiest.

It does a great job of keeping the paint damp, and extending the drying time, but it does not hit the mark for a couple of the critical points.

1.  For long term painting I find that the paper ends up curling in the corners as the paper dries unevenly and ends up mixing the paint, which is a major failing in my book.
2. Storage, again, since the paper is not secure, a little vibration (for example the drive back from my local game store) the paint runs everywhere. Just from carrying it out of the game store into my car, then into the house, I had paint on the top of the palette.

 Overall I would rate it as an average product (2), great if you’re at home, but less effective if you’re traveling.

However, for less then an additional $2.00 you can turn this into a great product!

Looking inside it under the foam there are 6 mold marks, and my mind immediately went to my favorite tool, magnets!
Using six 1/4" Disks on the bottom and six 3/8th" rectangles I was able to total fix the curling issue, and turned it into a product I am growing to love.

Step 1

Glue 6 of the 1/4" Disks to the mold marks on the bottom of the wet palette

Step 2

Place the paper down and test the magnets. Using the 3/8th" rectangles make sure the bond is strong but not so strong it’s pulling the paper down into the foam, which would cause pooling paint.

Step 3

Wet the whole thing, test it and you’re done!!

   If in the end you find your paper is still curling (basically the curl factor is stronger then the magnet bonds) just double the number of disk magnets below the foam, and glue a second magnet on top of the ones already mounted. That will greatly increase the strength of the pull between the disks and the rectangles.

 ~Dameon