I’ve seen a lot of interesting photographs of models recently, and one thing I wanted to draw peoples’ attention to was the way in which they take photographs of models.

I don’t have the nous to set up an elaborate lightbox for my miniatures, though this Blogspot post makes it sound very easy to do:

I was reading a thread by Daemon-Forge over on the Ammobunker, concerning his Arkham City miniatures, where he used a nice backdrop of Arkham itself to give his models some “grounding” – this links with conversations I’ve had with Tammy (TearsofEnvy) and John Blanche, about how a model’s base can in some ways operate as a sort of “frame” – and if you consider the figures we work with as pieces of art, it makes sense. (On that note, check out the latest work from Jeff Vader – something very impressive indeed.)

Here’s one of Deamon-Forge’s figures:

This is something that obviously can be taken to extremes, as these pictures by Jon Law demonstrate – though that’s obviously something that’s out of most of our leagues! Something interesting I’ve recently seen has been people in the INQ28/Inquisimunda communities using books and artwork that reflect their figures – something I find compelling, and would like to replicate myself.

This image by the poster Githalas on Powerfist.dk shows what I mean, using the Inquisitorial Sketchbook as a backdrop:

And recently Andy Hoare posted his latest retinue member, the agent known as Amber Gris – but if you look at the picture, she is actually standing on two pages from the Inquisitor rulebook.

It’s funny when we talk about how people within the INQ28 community have crafted models that look as though they’ve just jumped out of the pages of the 40k rulebook – well these models have!

It’s something I certainly want to have a think about when I post pictures – how can the “frame” alter what’s inside?

With the recent Specialist Games sell-off referenced in my previous post, it had to happen eventually. But in a rather understated post on the Conclave, Koval announced the awful truth – that Inquisitor Eisenhorn’s model is No Longer Available to purchase on the GW website.

I’ve bought a 54mm Eisenhorn figure, and he’s currently sitting in bits in a drawer at my parents’ house. I’ve always loved the figure, and it serves in many ways as a token of my affection for Dan Abnett’s seminal trilogy. These are the figures that spawned Inquisitor – and without Inquisitor, there would never have been INQ28.

So I’m sad to see so many of these figures going – especially with the resultant price hike that eBay will doubtlessly enjoy. It really is an end of an era.

In other news, I saw on the Black Library website that Xenos, the first of the Eisenhorn novels, has recently been re-released in French. The exciting thing about this is the new artwork that’s been created for the cover – I’m very impressed!

 

MarcoSkoll pointed out this Warseer thread where it is reported that GW are slowly shutting down the Specialist Range – as models go out of stock, they are seemingly not being replaced.

It would certainly be worth considering which models you may wish to purchase – with many Specialist Games figures being among the most distinctive and interesting figures released by GW, they are a boon to INQ28 hobbyists.

Just a head’s up!

I was exceptionally excited to receive a text from Steve last night saying that he’d managed to finish painting Pyremaster Korbin, one of Inquisitor Harrow’s retinue.

Here he is in, his glory. I appreciate that he’s not a converted model, but some of the metal Witch Hunters figures are among my favourites ever released. Steve’s classic red-black-brown Inquisitorial colour scheme helps to put that across:

Hello, all.

Storm Clouds Gather

There have been posts in the last few months regarding the “golden age of 40k”. I think that it holds true – for whatever reasons, there has been a huge convergence of various individuals, blogs and creations. There are fantastic figures being produced that are really very beautiful. I would, once again, encourage people to check out the Ammobunker INQ28 Sub-Forum, which has been alive with exceptional creativity.

It is, therefore, regrettable that I haven’t been able to do any modelling myself. My living arrangements simply don’t make it feasible, and in many ways I feel as though this massive tidal wave of creativity is simply passing me by.I’ve never been a particularly good painter – I enjoy converting figures, and would say I’m pretty good at it. But perhaps never being able to fully realise the concepts in my head has brought about a sort of creative disconnect.

INQvitational Affairs

I’ve been working on the literature for the 2013 INQvitational, now slated to take place on June 1st. The INQvitational, and events like it, are the only outlet at the moment for my GW hobby. At the moment, we have twenty players signed up for the event, and I’ve been trying to organise everything to make it as fantastic an event as possible for the players. After all, we have to outdo the previous year’s event.

If you are interested in taking part in this year’s INQvitational, please contact me via email at the usual address: inq28blog@gmail.com.

This year, I have been exploring the concept of an “international INQvitational”, a series of games played in different countries all on the same day, that contribute to an overarching plot. I’m keen to create something of substance and worth, something that makes a difference to the players on the day. I’ve missed out on so much hobby-related excellence in recent months, and so I want to make this excellent in my own way.

Obviously, that requires a sort of “buy-in” from players in different places. Again, if you are interested in such a concept, let me know via the previous email link.

Harrow and his Hound
Since the last update, PDH has managed to complete his overhaul of the Inquisitor Harrow figure for me:

He’s since sent this on to Steve, my captive painting genius, so hopefully we can expect to see something soon.

Xanthites
The talented Jon Flindall (known as RiseoftheMagi) has received a model from me, which he’s started to neaten up for me. Here’s what he had to say:

INQ28 Round-Up 
There’s plenty of interesting INQ28 going on at the moment – some that’s caught my eye are:

“Welcome to Cetus” by The Beard Bunker: I’m really intrigued by the potential of this thread, and would encourage people to keep their eyes on it.

Linguliformean’s =][= Retinue: I particularly like the wackiness of the retinue member hanging from a tree!

Ammis Umbau-Schuppen: This thread was brought to my attention by KrautScientist – there’s plenty of interesting Inquisitorial conversions here which could be useful fodder for an INQ28 project.

I’ve been rather quiet of late. Work is very busy, and I tend to feel that if I don’t have anything worthwhile to post, that I shouldn’t post. That said, the last month heralded the Ammobunker Open Bash 2013, where a number of INQ28 games were played. A grand time was had by all, and with the Easter holidays coming soon, I hope to be able to post up some stuff.

In the meantime, Peter’s been working on Gillam Harrow, my cybernetic Mondominant. He’s been through the wars, and whilst I’m fond of the model, there were a few touches I just wanted improving. Peter’s skill has definitely improved the model.

 

I realise it’s not the stunning miniature work going on on some of the blogs at the moment, but I’ve found it hard to do anything recently!

However, I would certainly advise you to check out the Ammobunker – particularly its new INQ28 section, which is a hotbed of really interesting modelling: AMMOBUNKER INQ28
 

I sat down to come up with some Denmark-related pun… something involving bacon… and I couldn’t get it to come together. Still, there’s some exciting things coming out of Denmark at the moment which have real ramifications for the “INQ28 scene.”

Obviously long-time INQ28 friend Jakob Rune Nielsen is Danish, as are the excellent posters over at http://www.powerfist.dk/ are as well. I was actually put onto this forum by Neil101, and I’m certainl;y glad that I was. I’ve been reading the forum with the aid of Google Translate, and the thread “Skub flere Dukker V2 – Inquisimunda Warband Challenge” has rewarded us with a number of realy excellent INQ28-esque figures.

I really urge you to check these guys out – though the log is baconless, there are some very tasty figures. My personal favourite at the moment is a True-Scaled Grey Knight built by Thomas Kyrsting:

This guy’s made out of the Forgeworld Tartaros Terminators, and has inspired me to look back at the possibility of making Truescaled Deathwatch. More on that in a future post…

Please check out the blog! Some excellent inspiration there!

Do you know of any new and exciting INQ28/Inquisimunda conversions or threads? Please send me the links, as I’m always glad for new inspiration, and am looking to feature more work from other modellers in the blog!

Well, as all can attest, this blog has been far too quiet over the last six months (or so.) So, Happy New Year to you all!

Peter has nagged me into trying to get a Resolution post up. If you are a long-time follower of this blog, you may remember that in December 2011, I posted a number of resolutions for 2012.

2012 was, without a doubt, a seminal year for INQ28. It’s not been perfect, but this was the year in which we ran the inaugural INQvitational (and the followup event, the REQUIEM day.) I’ve seen INQ28 and Inquisimunda spread throughout many forums, and I think 2013 has the chance of being something very special indeed.

I think INQ28 has grown and spread throughout 2012. I’ve tried to be an active forum participant, but my real-life status has meant that I’ve had to restrict myself somewhat to the Ammobunker. I don’t feel too bad about that – the Ammobunker is a great place to communicate with like-minded people. The disadvantage is that I know there’s a  great deal of creativity going on in other forums that I’m missing. Places like Dakka Dakka – though PDH is a good spy for me in that regard!
I mentioned using the Blog to its best. I don’t think I’ve done that particularly well. I’ve said before that I wanted this blog to be an INQ28 blog, not a Molotov blog. To that end, I don’t tend to post about things that I’m doing elsewhere on the internet, or that have nothing to do with INQ28. My real life has impinged massively on my INQ28 hobby, and the blog has suffered accordingly. I do have some plans in place to fix this, however.

Despite owning INQ28.com, I haven’t been able to do enough with it. I would like to get the website up so it can help to serve as a focal point for the hobby. If you have any experience with web design or the like, please get in touch with me!

I haven’t been able to do much hobbying in the latter half of the year, and I’ve felt that lack keenly. I’ve perhaps spent two or three nights working on models since September. I’d like to try to work something out so that I can do some modelling.
I think the INQvitational was a success, and that everybody who came had a great time. I’m going to be working on making the 2013 INQvitational an equally special day.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My resolutions for 2013 are:

1. Continue to Raise the Profile of INQ28
I want to continue to champion INQ28. That means I want to expand the blog and make it a more vibrant hub of the hobby. I would like to vary the sort of content on here, from rules and the like to pictures; from my models to those of other people. It would be nice to get the website up and running, though I’m several years late on that score! I’m also keen to work on some collaborative projects to get the modelling bug going.

2. Make more space in my life for INQ28  
Although I’ve spent plenty of time on the XBOX, I haven’t done anywhere near enough modelling. I would like this to change. SWMBO is not a major fan of my “little plastic men” (to say the least) but this may have to be something I put my foot down on. (I can model in the doghouse, right?)  

3. Put on at least one grand INQ28 event in 2013
The 2013 INQvitational should qualify for this, but I will keep my options open that I may be able to run a second event in the latter half of the year.

So, this blog post is a massive WATCH THIS SPACE – and I suggest you do, because I’m hoping to keep this resolution!
  

Hello all,

This (academic) year hasn’t been that kind to my hobbying; however, this weekend I was able to organise a series of INQ28 games at Warhammer World. I’ll be trying to put up a series of articles over the coming days which should bring this blog back to life (begrudging thanks to PDH, who decided to point out just how quiet it’s been!)

So, stay tuned – hopefully I’ll be putting some stuff up soon!