Future Plans

So uni is out in about a week's time.
Naturally, this means I will be at home, with a load of free time.
And naturally, the urge to expand has hit again.

My plan as of now is to attempt to buy one box of each of the items my army needs, discarding the older models or selling them, as the multi-stripped paintjobs are making them difficult to work with. So I'm probably saying goodbye to a bunch of older models, probably via Ebay or a local sale.
From there I plan to dupe the sprues I buy, keeping them as master sets, and building my army back from the ground up.

I've been working through some new ideas for a list, and it contains some Forgeworld; particularly XV9s.
I'll keep you all updated as I go.

Final Verdict on "Method"

Method works better than Simple Green on metal models, stripping the paint off with little to no effort on the part of the user. That said, it is far less useful on the plastic parts. I had to do twice the scratching of the models just to bring back the shallow lines on the model.
As is right now, most of my suits and troops are not in any condition to be repainted, as the paint has remained bound on despite the treatment. Also, any remaining tac putty on the model acts interestingly with Method. I had a vat separate for the weapon systems, and the larger amounts tac left on the missile pods warped the plastic. This left me with some broken looking missile pods, which is a shame, seeing as how my next list is using Deathrains. Furthermore, my Commander's custom helmet almost came apart, meaning

This brings me to my next announcement.
I'm going to start making molds. A few of my weapon systems were fully destroyed in this process. In addition, I've always been looking to try my Commander's winged design again. So...
I'm grabbing a mold and some resin and going to town. A cheap product that works as an instant mold has recently been brought to my attention, and using this in conjunction with cheap resin can lead to a massive line of missile pods that I can use more liberally, as well as a few more winged suits for the army.

With this in mind, my painting will, sadly, be being pushed back. However, this is a chance to try something new, and I'm excited.
Hopefully the knowledge of making molds will help in the future for other projects. When I eventually get around to duping the models, I'll post up how I did. If I'm lucky I'll get the chance within the month.

Mark II Re-Armoring Vats prove a slight success.

Whilst they took far longer to give an effect than the Mark I substance, the cleaning product "Method" also works for stripping acrylics. The good thing about this product is that the paint is actually flaking off in the mixture as opposed to me having to remove it through scrubbing.
A definite alternative to Simple Green.

Testing Mark-II Re-Armoring Vats

Ergo, I'm trying an alternative to Simple Green.
The local shop was out, so I bought the knockoff product. Hopefully it will have the same formula that tears at paint when used in concentrated doses.
Will let you in on the product if it is a viable alternative, though I believe it was slightly more expensive.

Paintshop

Well, didn't get to buy paints until today. That means no painting over the break.

However, I'm bringing a bucket of Simple Green and my paints to my dorm room, and converting my desk into a miniature painting area. With some newspaper Scotch-taped to the desk, I should be able to paint just fine, and at my own leisure.

My only snag is finding out where and how to prime. For obvious reasons, priming in the room I sleep in is out of the question. Doing the priming outside at uni could work, but I'd have to be careful and I'd have to bring the models in to dry. Basically, priming will be an arduous process. Also, without a form of compressed air (and an area to go) the airbrush is out of the question as well... unless I prime this week, run home and airbrush, and do the technical painting in my dorm.

But yeah, I'm working on it. In progress pics will be posted, but be warned, I'm not a good painter.

1850 Assembled, painted.

RAARGHHHHHHH!

Its 1:37 AM, and I have finished assembling and painting my whole 1850 force. It is an amazing feat; I have been using proxies for drones, suits without weapons, etc..

I'll post the list eventually; I've been working on my ideas for a more mobile castle, lessening my reliance on kroot for the role and switching to vehicular blockers.

Good night (morning) all.

My personal view on the GW Spray Gun

Don't buy it.

Mine was off an on, temperamental and ate through its air can way too quickly for my tastes. I've switched to a high-end airbrush after a lot of thought, and with the old air compressor I had laying around I managed to get a nice even flow of paint going; I would definitely suggest shelling out the money instead of going with the GW brand.

@GW:

I'm sorry for ranking on your product, but it honestly wasn't your best work. Stick with what you know; models and paint.

Simple Green

Just an unpaid plug for a cleaning item:

Simple Green cleaner can be used to strip paint off of models; drop them in a vat of the stuff, leave them there for a day, and scrub the paint with an old toothbrush. It won't get it all off, but it will remove enough that you will gain all your detail back; which is very helpful for painting on a new coat.

The reason for this? I'm putting a new paintjob on my vehicles. Trying out the GW Spray gun. Wish me luck.