So we're back!

Did a stock take today to see what I've got, and this was what it looked like:

The stuff in blue is from a second hand haul I grabbed when I picked up my Swarm-Master, and will need to be stripped before painting.

To save your eyes, included are:

10 Colonial Marines
14 Marines
3 Marine Casualties
21 SWAT
10 EBS Cyclos
14 Cyclos
6 Predator Marines
8 Talos
1 Helcat
1 Storm Strider
1 Tiger APC

4 War-Masters
31 Warriors
14 Hybrids
27 Helions
2 Heavy Spore Launchers

Phew!

Think I may start with the Cyclos as they're already based and primed - path of least resistance and all that. Then, who knows!

Immediate Plan of Action

I'm going to be doing a stock-take of all my Kryomek bits and pieces over the weekend so I know exactly where I am. They're currently secreted about the house in various wardrobes and cupboards, not to mention the stash in the garage. I'll then be able to formulate a plan of attack.

I think first up will be to finally knock off the Cyclo Cention I've had on the go for what seems like forever. There're only a few figures left to paint, and then I'll be able to take a step back and call something "done". After that, it'll be whatever takes my fancy.

To keep you interested, I've got a couple of pics of the swarm as it currently stands. I took these for a comp on Frothers, but I'll repost them here for completeness.

Laters

News of my demise has been greatly exaggerated...

3. 2. 1. Back in the room.

If I have anyone left following this little blog of mine, I apologise for a year without updates. To cut a long story short, I lost a very close family member last year, which completely destroyed any motivation I had to paint toy soldiers. In the time since then I've tried to sum up some enthusiasm by dabbling with some space-ship gaming and painting a few other ranges, but could never get that bothered about the whole thing.

But slowly, over the last couple of weeks, I've started reading various forums and blogs, and can feel the mojo returning. I've even gone so far as to do a little stock take as to where I am with all things Kryomek which I'll share in my next post.

So if you're still there, thanks for your patience, and I hope to have plenty to show you very soon.

New Year Round-up

Wow - 2011 already? I hope everyone had a great festive period. I thought I'd mark the beginning of the year by taking stock of where my various projects are, and where I hope to get them in the coming months, as well as a few resolutions (which may or may not be kept!)

The Cyclo Cention is inching towards completion. I only have 19 convicts left to paint and then it can be put to bed. This is definitely at the top of the list in terms of painting.

The first platoon for the CBUs is also coming along nicely. I've recently added a squad of Helcats as a bodyguard for the command squad.

Still to add to round out the platoon is another 4 TALOS units, the command squad, and a walker.

The SWAT platoon is also moving forward slowly. I've just received the first of 2 Colossus walkers which will accompany the marines. (It's actually a Tiger for Void but what the hey!)

That's his head. Still to add here are around a dozen marines, another Colossus, an APC, a few AFVs and a couple of Striders - plenty of armour in this force!

And finally the bugs. I'll be doing these as and when I feel the need. Thanks to Ebay I've got a fairly large box of gribblies to keep me going, and I've got enough painted for some decent games - a couple of Warmasters, 15 assorted Warriors and 30 Helions. Which brings us onto the resolutions:

• First up I've got to get a gaming surface done. Always one for a quick fix this is going to involve a nice piece of plywood I've "found" along with a can of textured spray paint. Quick and dirty! A bit of scenery wouldn't go amiss either, and to this end I've got some craters, trees, foamboard that need sorting out and painting. I've also been hoarding those containers that stacks of CDs come in which I think will make great colonist's housing. We shall see!
• That will allow me to ACTUALLY PLAY SOME GAMES! which let's face it is the point of the whole exercise. I'll be starting small, but I'm hoping to have some battle reports going up this year.
• Fluff - I'd like to expand on some of the material in the core books, notably some key locations and battles, along with coming up with some kind of map of humanic space-time and a planetary setting for an ongoing narrative campaign I'd like to run. Don't hold your breath!
• I also want to expand the game in a couple of different directions - I've wanted to do some Starship gaming for a while, probably using GZG's "Full Thrust" rules and I think there's plenty of scope for this in the background. I'll also be looking to use bastardised Space Hulk rules to game boarding actions. Again, there're plenty of accounts of this kind of combat in the rulebooks.
• Last but not least, I really want to get in the habit of posting more often. I follow a number of blogs, and the writers of some of them seem to do nothing but post up great pictures of fantastic miniatures and great games (stand up Inso & Gyro) - I don't know how they do it, but I'd like to try!

So that little lot should keep me busy! Let's see how we get on.