Brandlin

Big Un - III

2012-01-09T19:05:00.001Z

Just a little more progress today. The stucco/render is finished.

Big Un - II

2012-01-02T18:01:00.001Z

Oh no, what have I done?

This stage always makes me nervous because it feels like everything is getting worse, rather than progressing!

All of the resin textured stucco has been applied, two coats of black spray undercoat applied and two coats of the stucco base, and the slate grey roof. The orange might seem extreme, but it gives a great base to the following two stipple-coats that will be applied next. For paint on this model I'm using Dulux emulsion paints which I had mixed to as close as the Foundry Triad colours I normally paint with and used on the original Pryn-Gul tower models.

Next step is to finish the stucco with two stipple coats of lighter shades, then to repaint in the black undercoat of the beam work, then base coat and the laborious job of painting in the wood gain detail... Long way to go yet!

Big Un - I

2012-01-01T16:47:00.001Z

Feast of cylinders...

2011-11-29T19:26:00.001Z

Picture curtesy of Taelen from the Twilight Forums

Featuring a pair of furbarnii desperately emptying cylindrical snack containers to allow them to build wargaming terrain! :)

Thank you Taelen!

Start shopping for Xmas

2011-11-24T22:08:00.001Z

Look what's hit the shops in the UK for Christmas. Buy now, keep the tubs...!

And another stunning paint job

2011-11-23T23:19:00.001Z

Now that's a paint job!

2011-11-20T02:02:00.001Z

Soon to be released Grymn (space dwarf) Admiral from Hasslefree Miniatures, painted by the obscenely talented Iacton over on the Forum of Doom Here.

I notice from my followers list that there are a number of people joined now that are NOT war-gamers or role-players or even painters of toy soldiers, and you may be a little non-plussed by what you are doing here, tempted as you were by pictures of fairy castles and wizard towers made out of Pringles tubes... So, just to get this in context the figure beneath measures just 22mm from sole of foot to top of head.

I'm just off now to snap my brushes...

And now finished

2011-11-19T08:22:00.001Z

Oddly tempting illogical walker thingie...

2011-11-18T21:21:00.001Z

Despite my entirely logical, well reasoned, dislike of anthropomorphised robots, I feel strangely drawn to this walker made by hassle free miniatures...

And the dismounted Grymn (space dwarf) pilot...

IPMS

2011-11-13T20:56:00.001Z

I went to the International Plastic Modellers Society (IPMS) show at Telford yesterday and had a good couple of hours wandering around the models. I'm not really interested in the WW2 and modern aircraft and armour, but there were a few sic-fi models on display.

Bargain of the day was picking up an AMT model of NC1701E for just £14.99 rather than the £35 retail price tag.

Never made a Star Trek kit before, but I now find myself wanting all of them!

Another highlight was my son buying his first model kits. An Airfix Tornado GR1 (because Daddy used to work on it) and a Alligator Russian helicopter kit (because it looked cool). work on the tornado began this afternoon around the kitchen table, pictures later.

Finally I also discovered the Berna Multiclamps. These are by far the most useful "extra pair of hands" I've ever owned, simple precise and incredible versatile. Thoroughly recommended!

They are available under the Model Craft Brand (PCL8710/2). I bought two pairs (large and small), but they're so good that I want more!

And you thought multiple choice was easy?

2011-11-11T02:05:00.001Z

I like this...

Think about it.

Just saw these

2011-11-06T21:58:00.001Z

... and thought they might make good Grymn drones/remotes. They're actually from infinity.

Bargain Bucket

2011-11-06T14:08:00.001Z

It's been a while since I did any work on my laser cut styrene building models, mostly due to work life being astronomically busy.

However, inspiration (and indigestion) struck yesterday, in the form of this...

By heck it's big though!

What do you think...
Town hall?
Prison?
Warehouse/grain store?
Engineers guild building?
Observatory?
Manor house?

Views and comments welcome.

I never thought I'd say this...

2011-11-05T00:27:00.001Z

Those of you who bother to read my infrequent and rambling rants will know I have a logical detest of walking robots in sic-fi, or any other genre for that matter.

I won't go into the very rational mechanical and economilitaristic arguments here, suffice to say I'm right and the rest of you are wrong.

However I've always admitted that SOME walker robots look cool, but I've never found one I would actually buy.

Until now.

This is a wip of a Grymn walker from hassle free miniatures.... And it's calling me. I might actually buy one... Or two.

Patience is a virtue I can't afford

2011-10-22T10:37:00.002+01:00

In the depths of my seemingly bottomless obsession with the scifi dwarfs (Grymn) from Hasslefree miniatures, I sometimes find myself lost in thought of "what might be". This kind of reverie is nourishing for the soul, however of much greater disturbance are those "things that almost are". Figures that we know, and have known for some time, are already in design.

I refer you to these...

And, whilst it feels a little churlish to mention it yet again but after a five year wait I don't think it's too unfair... This...

Another inspirational picture

2011-10-22T10:15:00.001+01:00

Yes, I know I've not posted for months. Work has been a little crazy.

But I saw this and despite it's cartoonishness liked the terrain idea.

New logo for World of Twilight

2011-08-28T19:45:00.003+01:00

Yes, I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have been very busy at work.

Meanwhile my good friend Mike Thorpe has been busy creating some new graphics for his World of Twilight game.

Yet More Inspirational Buildings

2011-06-21T09:55:00.001+01:00

Sadly these are 15mm not 28 mm but the style is artful, cartoonish and a little spooky

Not in production yet, these are from blue moon manufacturing

Great new dwarfs from Hasslefree Miniatures

2011-06-13T20:19:00.003+01:00

Not on my battlefield - II

2011-06-12T23:40:00.003+01:00

Ok, so 14 figures on a CD base was wildly optimistic, considering I can only just get the tank chassis on here ... What was I thinking. So I'll have to come up with an alternate base idea.

Anyway I started kit bashing the Macross Attack Tomahawk. I wanted to remove the long arms and make the torso squatter, and I decided to double up the guns. These are held on with plasticine right now, but a little placard and they will be moveable and posable.

Can you tell what I'm doing yet?

Wow, just WOW!

2011-06-11T19:17:00.005+01:00

New greens, grymn officers from Hasslefree Miniatures. I like these a lot!

More than a lot.

I now NEED them for my diorama!

"Not on MY battlefield!" - I

2011-06-08T14:09:00.002+01:00

This is a diorama that I had the idea for when I did the "Do you think he'll notice?" diorama wayyyyy back in 2009 for the Diorama of Doom IV competition over on the Forum Of Doom.

Anyway the working title for this Diorama is ...

Not on MY battlefield!"

Starting with this from old crow.

From Heresy Miniatures, Bob and Dave - the line markers from my last diorama will be making a reappearance as scrap metal merchants having been sacked for gross incompetence.

Bob and Dave will be joined by

And from Hasslefree miniatures:

The following Grymn will also be in appearance:

And finally from Antenociti's workshop

Hmmm thats 15 figures - Might be a little too much, but i like to make the scenes quite compact. the whole lot is going on a CD sized base and will have quite a lot of height.

Plus resin pieces from Fenris games the bits box and a load of Evergreen plastic and this:

Lastly I had to overcome a certain amount of revulsion and prejudice to buy these two kits. As those of you who know my feelings on anthropomorphised automata you'll understand the effort this took

Yes, thats right I have bought Giant walking robot kits... Shudder!

Progress will be slow...Wish me luck.

Return of the drop ship

2011-05-27T13:08:00.003+01:00

Remember this...

Well I've started to play around with the CAD model again with the idea of turning it into a laser cut kit rather than a resin one. I'm looking to make the central pod detachable so the engine pods and the cockpit will attach to a frame and the extruded oval shape will form the "pod". All held together by magnets. Laser cutting the pods means that the walls can be made quite thin which in turn allows for a detachable pod roof with a hollow interior you can actually fit figures and vehicles in. I'm imagining opening Pod doors, exit ramps, internal seating

The cockpit lends itself really well to the laser cutting technique as its slab sided and just a complex 'box'. The rest of the model is a bit curvy though. I think I could do the spine and frame but it might be easier in other materials. Likewise the engine nacelles might be better resin cast.

Comments welcomed.

Also, I've been asked about selling the old crow modular helipad that I had made.

For those of you too young to remember this project from the dawn of time, it is based on an Old Crow chassis (Scout Outrider) not provided.

If there is any demand I'll happily get kits made. What do you think?

Conical Roof Components

2011-05-23T15:32:00.002+01:00

I'm now selling the components for you to make our own 75mm diameter Conical Roofs. These are the same roofs as are incorporated into the Pryn-Gul Tower and the Haft-Oob Stables kits, but without the cut outs.

The kit comprises two sheets of laser cut styrene in 1mm and 0.5mm thicknesses plus the necessary tubing to support the apex and create a flag pole.

Ideal for your own scratch build projects, the style matches the laser cut Rustic Shingles kits I already sell.

The kit is now available in my store and is shipping immediately at the price of £3.50

Dairy Lea?

2011-05-23T14:45:00.001+01:00

A potential new model made from a heightened Dairy Lea Cheese box. I'm playing around with how to have an offset conical roof incorporating a balcony. This is as far as I got.

As always, this would be detailed with beam work, and entrance door, windows and a few other bits and pieces...

For those of you unaware of the chemical goodness that is cheese triangles here in the UK...

And it seems that LAughing Cow boxes are the same size...

Comments welcomed.

Have I Overdone it?

2011-05-22T19:53:00.002+01:00

As I have previously posted, I'm more of a figure buyer than a painter or gamer. I think I may just have proved it again.

Those of you with long memories may remember the start of my Hasslefree miniatures Grymn army, complete with Old Crow vehicles. I simply adore both ranges and think they go brilliantly together.

One problem I have though is I don't actually plan a force. I tend o buy some figures, then buy some vehicles to go in them, then realise I've over bought vehicles, so over buy figures to fill them... And so on.

I think I may have done it again. I have order arriving imminently from Old Crow which will bring my total vehicle list to:

1 Halberd Assault Gun - tracked
3 Gladius Medium Tank - tracked (2 tank turret, 1missile)

1 Claymore Heavy APC - wheeled (Support turret)
4 Glaive Medium APC - tracked (2 cannon, 1 missile, 1 command)

1 Slingshot multipurpose AFV - wheeled (tank turret)
3 Trojan Light APC - wheeled (2 cannon, 1 missile)

3 Gecko scouts (1 pickup)
1 Goanna scout (missile)

3 Provider transport truck - wheeled
3 Provider trailers - wheeled (mobile landing deck, lorry body or missile options) *these are outrider scout chassis with my own bodies attached

1 Raven gunship
1 Crow Infantry/Cargo lander

I do have around 100 Grymn but I just know that:
a) I'll buy more (especially if/when Hasslefree release more.
b) I'll probably need more to fill the vehicles

In addition I also have my eye on some more trucks and support vehicles, the SansomRecovery Vehicle, and surprisingly I don't have any of the outrider scout cars yet! Oh, and you can't have ONE lander can you? You need enough to get your whole force mobile, so you need enough gunships and fliers to protect them... Obvious really.

Am I locked in a never ending wallet busting cycle?

Old Crow Review

2011-05-20T13:33:00.003+01:00

If you're thinking of buying old crow vehicles (and I would encourage you to do so) then go have a look at the review over on TableTopperHarley

A great detailed review of the products, and kindly uses one of my painted pictures from a couple of years ago. Apparently my painting is "awesome"-no I didn't pay him! {blushes}

I didn't dare tell him I might repaint them as I'm waiting on a new old crow order and I want a different camo colour to match my new gamin board.

You never know I might even paint some grymn too!

EDIT: you should also check out the review at http://figurkrigsspil.dk/galleri_htm/old_crow_uk1.html

Houses

2011-05-19T13:55:00.000+01:00

I'm looking to add to the rage of building kits with a couple of simple house styles. The idea is to use one kit with a few options to create a lot of flexibility for the modeller.

These are based on a McDonalds McFlurry Ice cream cup (its the ONLY reason i went into McDonalds - shudder). Three different roof designs and three different doors give a range of options.

I would include in the kit enough beam work and windows so that the models fit in with the same style as the others.

Also by applying pillars similar to those on the watchtower you can also do this:

Views?

A Wizard Did It!

2011-05-18T20:12:00.002+01:00

During my hunt for inspiring pictures for fantasy terrain, I came across this picture. I says everything I dislike about the fantasy genre!

Even in fantasy, I like my worlds to have some internal consistency, application of physics and common sense.

Watchtower instructions

2011-05-18T01:48:00.001+01:00

Apologies for the delay, but the overdue Benan Watchtower assembly instructions are now available online.

Sorry to all those who bought the kit at Salute 2011 for the delay. Feedback is always welcome on the kits and instructions.

More inspirational pictures

2011-05-15T22:03:00.006+01:00

I always loved the modular Pardulon buildings and was sad to see them discontinued. However I notice they have started up again...

If you don't like these you have no soul!

More inspirational pictures

2011-05-12T02:01:00.000+01:00

I liked the look of these buildings n want to get a little of the feel into my next models.

Picture from
http://nickcarver.blogspot.com/

Hexapossibilities

2011-05-10T23:22:00.001+01:00

I've been playing around with some possible basic shapes for a new model, or perhaps an addition to the Pryn-Gul tower. The future is hexagonal I tell ya! I've tired to provide some random element by offsetting the cylinder of the tower to the hexagon, so its off centre. My thoughts would be to have the kit so it could be assembled either with a pointy roof (pic1), OR with the tower continuing through the slope of the hexagonal roof (pic 3)

What do you think?

Pryn-Gul Tower back in stock.

2011-05-05T15:10:00.000+01:00

The original Pryn-Gul Tower kit is now back in stock and can be ordered from the store.

Cast in .... ermm... some sort of tin alloy...?

2011-04-29T13:58:00.000+01:00

One of the ranges of figures I love outside of the twilight range are the sci-fi dwarfs known as Grymn, sculpted by Kev White at Hasslefree Miniatures. These are fabulously characterful models with dynamic poses and superb customer service courtesy of His Wife Sally.

I've frequented their discussion forum, The Forum of Doom, for a few years now and a couple of years ago Kev and his wife Sally did me the honour of naming one of the grymn figures after me!


HFG059 Alun

I was remiss in mentioning this before, but now they've gone and done it again!

HFG071 Linbrandt

I spent so long working on the demon board and models for Salute that I neglected to thank the White's for their recognition. Though I really must point out to them that I don't have any facial hair! :)

So, for the record... THANK YOU Kev and Sally White of Hasslefree Miniatures!

Reopened

2011-04-20T17:14:00.002+01:00

The Store is now OPEN!

Following a great reception at Salute 2011 and a number of sales, the store is now open to sell the post salute stock, and an order placed for re-stocks.

.

Salute 2011 - further pictures

2011-04-17T23:17:00.000+01:00

My thanks to Emberbreeze over on the World of Twilight Forum for these pictures. Especially the first one with some photoshop skulduggery.

"Almost Home"

He is also responsible for these 'snaps'. I particularly like the blurred effect from the long exposure times, it makes the board look as though it's stopped in time amidst the bustle of the show...

Thank You Emberbreeze for the pictures and to all on the Twilight stand that made me so welcome and helped me sell stuff, especially Mike and Jules.

Salute 2011 - first pics

2011-04-16T23:23:00.002+01:00

Just got back from the 5 hour drive from Salute and saw that already there were some pics up of my board being used for the Twilight demonstration game, so I thought I would share.

More comment on the event when i have slept!

Super Secret Project - XIII - Done?

2011-04-10T14:29:00.001+01:00

I think I may have finished...

Lighting isn't the best - will get some better ones taken when I have the time.

Now All I have to do is get the thing there!

See you all at Salute!

Super Secret Project - XII - so near and yet so far!

2011-04-08T12:57:00.000+01:00

Finally with all the buildings built and laid out, I can finally say that they fit!!

Now just lots of painting and painting to go!

8 days and counting!

Reopening at SALUTE 2011

2011-03-25T14:23:00.000Z

Re-Opening with new models at SALUTE 2011 on Stands TB01 & GB03 with the guys from World of Twilight!

I can now confirm that I will be re-opening the BRANDLIN laser cut terrain building store at Salute 2011 on 16th April. There will be three new building models released and available to buy at Salute: Tew-Fah Bridge, Hey-Dryn Wall and Bennan Watchtower

The Watchtower and wall sections come with optional roof sections and the wall roof will also fit the bridge. All of these models will fit together using the optional magnets and the roof sections are also secured using magnets. This means that whole fortified wall sections can be built modularly.

Prices range from £3.50 for the Tew-Fah Bridge. Full details are now available in my store, but orders will only be taken after Salute.

As well as the new models, the original Pryn-Gul Tower and the Haft-Oob Stables will be re-available.

I am also re-releasing the laser cut shingles and slates kits that enable you to quickly add roofs to your own scratch built models.

If you are attending the show then you'll find me on the Twilight Stand TB01. All of these buildings will be available at the Show, and you'll be able to see them gracing the Twilight Demonstration Game board on stand GB03 so feel free to come along and join in!

Super Secret Project - XI - Oooo Interesting!

2011-03-12T16:56:00.000Z

I'm finally beginning to believe that:

I might finish this
It might not be an eye sore!

I "think" I have finished all the flocking. Just some touching up of the cliffs to do where flock has blown onto them and the dye run :( and then a couple more coats of sealer and some matte finish - but thats easy to to do with the spray gun - its just drying time.

Oh, and of course I don't have all the buildings lasercut and made yet, but things are mving on well there as well! You can see the black outlines where the walls and towers will go. I do like the matt black finish on the surround too - am chuffed I took the time to do that!

And Finally a picture from safe behind the stockade walls looking out onto the barren steppe.

Super Secret Project - X - Grass!

2011-03-06T12:38:00.001Z

Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder where the birdies is?

This is just the first coat of flock, so its a little thin - it'll get another coat of flock all over today, and then I'll focus on getting more texture.

Super Secret Project - IX - Parcels!

2011-02-27T21:22:00.000Z

Well i came back from my weekend away and finally got to see the parcel that arrived earlier in the week... I opened it up and inside were 160 A4 sheets of laser cut styrene!

Brandlin does a little happy dance.

That's Pryn-gul Towers, Haft-oob Stables, Shingles and Slates kits x20 which is starting stock for salute. So I have been spending the evening bagging and tagging and will have loads more to do during the week too.

That's just half what I need though so I'll be ordering the Walls, Watchtowers and Bridges and then its all systems go...

Oh, except I still have this pesky board to finish!

Harumph...

Super Secret Project - VIII nothing to see here

2011-02-20T13:33:00.000Z

No update this weekend, cos I am away from home.

Also no update next weekend as it will be my wedding anniversary and I am under orders not to plan anything!

On the positive front I am awaiting some laser cut sheets - so it looks like things are going to be close...

Super Secret Project - VII - Paint!

2011-02-13T17:31:00.004Z

Finally I managed to get some paint on this!

Firstly the surrounding MDF frame was given an undercoat and a couple of coats of flat black to act as a frame. Then I masked out the edges and covered them in news paper to protect them. I also marked out where all the buildings are going and masked those areas out as well, so that when I peel the masking tape off there will be black location points for each of the buildings.

Then I applied all the scree, and collapsed rubble at the bottom of the cliff edges and such like, and gave all the exposed rock a couple of spray coats of dark grey base.

Then a couple of layers of progressively lighter grey paint dry brushed onto the exposed rock faces and scree.

Finally a close up of the rock formation on which the fortifications sit.

Relaunching Delays and Salute 2011 Issues

2011-02-04T12:47:00.001Z

The observant amongst you will notice that January has come and gone and my web store has not reopened as promised.

My laser cutting supplier is having significant delays due to other work pressures and is unable to give me a delivery time either for existing stock or prototypes of the new models. This situation has been ongoing since early December with a number of missed promises, and I see no reason for it to change anytime soon.

I need a few weeks to get prototype models and build them to make any changes for the production models, write the assembly instructions, paint photograph etc.

I also need these kits made to go on the board for Salute 2011 otherwise I will be letting down Mike Thorp of Twilight Miniatures as I am providing the board for his demonstration game. I am getting very close to being forced to pull out of Salute this year, which is incredibly frustrating.

I have hunted high and low for any other supplier that could undertake this work but drawn a complete blank - most small outfits wont cut styrene as they don't have the correct extraction and ventilation. Whereas the costs of the big industrial guys are orders of magnitude higher as i'm using a tiny tiny portion of their capacity.

If anyone knows of any reasonably priced company offering laser cutting services in the model making industry then please let me know.

Super Secret Project - VI

2011-01-30T14:39:00.005Z

Ok, so I cannot pretend this is secret anymore.

I have finally finished the surround and support for this board which is amde from 12mm MDF and battening crisscrossed beneath - I'll provide pictures of the woodwork when I have someone to take the pictures while I tip the board. In my normal manner this may be overkill, but I KNOW that I'll be able to transport the board without damaging it. On the other hand I am beginning to wonder just how strong the average war games exhibition table is?

Once the structure was complete I was able to put the board itself in, and then fill any of the gaps using - foam gap filler, (does exactly what it says on the can). You'll see that the MDF surround is cut to exactly match the contours of the edge of the board, providing very robust protection all around, and I hope a professional finish.

Having then cut off the extra gap filling foam I have been able to apply the plaster filler which will smooth all the surfaces together.

In the next picture you are looking from the smooth rolling tundra end of the board towards the fortified end.

The exposed yellow bits you can see are the foam insulation showing through where they will form cliffs, the grey areas are where I have smoothed out plaster to make rolling hills. You can just make out the smoothed road leading the length of the board and the right hand junction about half way down.

Due to the cold weather and the fact I am having to work in the garage, the glues and plaster are taking a very long time to set. So I am not going to touch this again until next weekend.

Next time - sanding, sanding, more sanding and probably a final plaster layer... and then yet more sanding.

Super Secret Project - V

2011-01-22T00:29:00.003Z

You are NOT authorised to read this file - please desist immediately

There, that should keep the unwanted riff-raff out... now, just between you and me I thought i'd show you some pictures of the kind of effect I am looking to achieve on this board I am clearly NOT making - nudge nudge, wink wink!

Some inspirational pictures:

Maybe with a hint of:

Except without the deep snow, there may be a scattering or a frost. I haven't decided yet.

In order to do this I have the following flocks and scatters - all from Antenociti's Workshop.

Add in the usual scree and talus, along with some seafoam trees:

Super Secret Project - IV

2011-01-15T18:40:00.000Z

I have no idea what this is, or in fact who is building it... in fact these pictures don't exist at all. They are clearly NOT of a game board being assembled and reaching the end of foam cutting and about to be glued.

There is no way that these pictures could exist, because anyone building such a thing would have to not be working 60 hour weeks and neglecting his family to try and finish this.

Shhh ... still nothing to see here, move along move, along now.

Super secret project - III

2010-12-24T13:07:00.001Z

There is one question I have yet to resolve. How to assemble, store and transport this thing! I dislike sectional boards as the edges are always so visible so I would prefer to glue this all together into a 6x4 or 8x4 complete board. The location of the buildings and river and such like is also a problem as they dont match the edges of the boards.

I guess I should glue the foam to a sheet of 6mm MDF or something similar? I'm then paranoid about the edges being damaged... especially as i will need to move it about the country. Should I surround the outside in a box structure of ply or MDF or something? I can probably borrow a van in which it will travel and the buildings will be held in place by magnets so I am not too worried about them getting damaged but the other end of the board is going to be wooded with sea-foam trees and the trees will be a nightmare to transport. I'm also worried about stuff falling on the board and damaging the foam. My natural reaction to this is to make a wooden box with handles that completely surrounds the board? Those of you that transport large terrain boards regularly... what do you do - advice please?

Super Secret Project - II

2010-12-23T17:29:00.001Z

Super secret project - I

2010-12-19T19:43:00.000Z

Shhh - don't tell anyone.

A little something I am playing around with

2010-12-19T00:27:00.001Z

Shhhh ... i can't tell you anything as this is a super secret project that only Mike Thorp and I know about, and i only have until the middle of April to finish it (so don't ask ...ok?)

Relaunching

2010-12-09T01:18:00.000Z

Well, it's been a while, but finally I think most of the problems and delays are behind me and I find myself back in a position to be able to relaunch my small laser cut buildings endeavour. The only problem have now is one of time, so don't expect anything other than a snails pace.

I expect to be reopening the store in late january, with a couple of new products already shown here, the watchtowers and stockade walls, with a few new modular bits and pieces thrown in too.

I also have secret plans for Salute 2011 in the works, so maybe see you there?

Thank you all for your patience.

Watchtower Variant

2010-09-01T15:19:00.003+01:00

This is a variant of the watchtower kit with an extra storey added to the top of the tower using the good old Pringles Tube. It will be possible to make this from the watchtower kit...

I have also added a number of pictures of the new kits to The Gallery such as this one:

And finally - I think I have some good news on the way which means I will be able to relaunch - hopefully during October. More news soon.

B

Watchtower prototype finished

2010-08-24T13:43:00.007+01:00

I (mostly) finished painting up the prototype Benan Watchtower. Sorry about the change in tones between the pictures the real colour is somewhere between the two.

Watchtower without the canopy roof.

The optional die-cast hatch opens and closes and is not yet painted. The recessed magnets to connect the canopy roof can clearly be seen in the deck. In the right hand picture you can see the door modeled into one of the flat wall connecting sections - this is hidden by an attached wall, but can be used as an entrance to the tower if it is used stand alone.

With canopy roof installed

4mm magnets are glued into the base of the tubes that form the pillars for the roof and the whole roof section snaps into place. There is too much of the wood colour and pattern here so I will probably change the pillar colour slightly before I finish the grain on it.

Overall I like the design but there are a couple of changes I want to make.

Don't recess the magnets so far. So when the roof is not installed the magnets are flush with the surface.
Simplify the underside of the canopy - it currently has beams and trusses cut from styrene sheet. Although this looks good its almost never visible and is a pain to make and paint well, it also doesn't provide a good enough gluing point for the tops of the pillars. I'll replace this with a hexagon with holes cut to accept the pillars. should use less styrene too, hence cheaper
Change the roof on the canopy. Although the planking works I think it is too similar to the rest of the wood. I think I shall offer a shingle kit to go on top of it. (note that a conical roof from the pryn-gul tower or the stables kit will also fit.

As always comments and suggestions are very welcome.

A little more wall progress...

2010-08-11T15:26:00.003+01:00

A little more progress: I am pleased with these.(pics taken on my phone so sorry they aren't quite as sharp as usual)

Finished Wall Section

Finished Wall Assembled to a WIP Tower & Bridge.

The upper sections of these pieces matches the colours of my existing buildings. The lower sections have small stones PVA glued to the sections and painted to resemble flint covered stone built sections. I hope this gives them more of a rugged appearance than the basic buildings but still looks more like a stockade than a stone fortress/castle.

Stockade Prototypes

2010-08-04T15:12:00.000+01:00

I'm not intending to give up on my laser cutting venture, so I thought I'd show you some of the stockade prototypes that I've been building (wall, bridge and watchtower). These are laser cut test pieces and there are a few adjustments needed but otherwise are broadly ok. You'll spot some blue and green gap filler!

Watchtower with Bridge/gateway and three wall sections

Each of the wall sections (and the bridge) are 150mm long, and the platform of the watchtower is 115mm high which exactly matches the second floor of the Pryn-Gul Tower model so will be fully compatible with that model in future.

Watchtower with Bridge/gateway and three wall sections

The walls are constructed from foam board which I intend to cut and put in the kits, with laser cut styrene for the shaped, ends decks, handrails, and palisades. As a guid I'm expecting each of the wall sections and bridge to be priced at around the £5 mark and the Watchtower at around £10.

Close up of the watchtower with the canopy in place

This copy of the watchtower is constructed with 2 wall attachment buttresses, the kit will also allow you to construct one with one or none and (by combining 2 kits) 3. There is enough palisade in the watchtower to surround the upper deck - the version I have built has the safety handrail at the back.

Each of the components locates to the others with 4 x 4mm disc magnets recessed into the styrene, allowing any orientation to be achieved. Magnets also position and hold the canopy in place. The magnets are strong enough to snap the components together and you can lift 3 wall sections by simply holding the middle one, but can easily be separated by tilting the models apart. I intend to sell the magnets as an optional extra to the kits.

Canopy removed to show the 12 magnets that snap it into place

The trap door hatch in the watchtower is a 14mm square die-cast gun portal from a ship scale modeling company and will be provided as an optional extra... eventually!

I hope that whets your appetite, and I shall try to keep you up to speed with progress, but it will be a lot more erratic and slower than previously expected.

B.

I'm OK! and SALE!

2010-08-01T12:51:00.003+01:00

Thank you to all those that have sent their best wishes, either via the comments here on this blog, on email, or messages on other forums I frequent. Your kind words have been appreciated even though I have not, until now, taken the time to reply.

Thank You!

I would like to take a couple of minutes of your time to clarify a couple of things though. The bad news I had was NOT health related. Me and all my nearest and dearest are fit and healthy and battling along, so my apologies to anyone who read my previous blog-post as indicating that there might be serious illness involved. I am simply being forced to take a break whilst I resolve a few financial issues.

I have also NOT closed the web shop, and I have NOT given up on the laser cut kits. I do however need to recover the cost of the stock I currently have in the shop. So, to that end I have cut up to 25% off the price of all stock, available immediately and only for the small amount of stock I already have.

Think of this as a chance to get a couple of kits at a reduced price and benefit from my misery! When I get things sorted at my end, these kits will be restocked and made available again at the previous full prices. This is NOT a closing down sale.

So, to unimaginatively quote Arnie, "I'll be back!"

I just don't know when. Watch this space.

Brandlin (Alan)

Bad News.

2010-07-27T08:12:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I received some bad news which has really shocked me.

As a consequence there will be little or no posting on this blog for the forseeable future, and I shall not be progressing the WIP models.

I will sell the remainder of the stock I have in the store, but will not be restocking.

My apologies to those who were awaiting new models, and those of you that have supported my venture with your comments and feedback. I hope to be able to take this up again at some point but have no idea when.

Sorry.

Stockade Walls - First Build

2010-07-25T16:23:00.002+01:00

I got a bundle of plastic in the post yesterday which included the prototype kits for the walls, bridge and watchtower. This is the first quick and nasty assembly of a 6" section of stockade wall just to make sure that all the bits fit.You'll see from the pictures I have done little to clean the models up and there were a couple of 'glue incidents' - but thats what you get for having a 9 year old son as your Glue Marshal. ;)

Its the simplest of the kits so far - it's nice not having to fit everything to curved surfaces for a change! I need to adjust the lengths of he beams a trifle (a trifle is a technical engineering term - i wont bother you with the full definition) and the template for the foam core is a little large... but other than that Bingo!

And just because some of you always complain about the lack of pictures with figures in.

Left to right: Hasslfree Grymn, Spyglass Inga, Wyrd Minaitures Mad hatter; the latter two on 30mm display bases. Assuming the rest of the builds go as well this week I'll be opening up pre-orders for the kits with an availabiity of mid August.

Not again!

2010-07-21T14:34:00.000+01:00

Those of you who have been reading my mutterings from the time before laser cutting took over may remember my long time project to create opposing Grenadier Fantasy Warriors Dwarf and Orc/Goblin armies.

One of the models that has alluded me for some time are the Chronicle Miniatures Orc and Goblin Chariots. Although not technically Grenadier figures they were sculpted by the same sculptor who did the FW line - Nick Lund. I have three of the Grenadier Orc Warchief Chariots but want the other variants too!

BN1

There was One on ebay recently from New Zealand... and for the 6th time in the last 3-4 years I managed to be the SECOND highest bidder. Despite sniping the auction I was outbid by another sniper! I'm not complaining about this practice, its a sensible way of bidding - it's just frustrating that I continue the hunt yet again.

I did turn down a chariot a few months ago that had the driver figure missing and i reasoned i was unlikely to be able to find a spare driver from the set - I'm beginning to regret that.

So in the vain hope that any of you guys out there have any of the Chronicle chariots and are prepared to sell or swap then please let me know. It might be worth reminding you that I have a 'Wanted Page' which I try to keep up to date with my current obsessions.

B.

Sur la pont...

2010-07-15T14:43:00.003+01:00

While I am waiting for the prototype kits of the walls and watchtower, I thought I'd play around with a few bridge ideas..

These first ones are variations on the Tew-Fah Bridge. Same length, but rising from a single storey to a double storey in height. These images are just shown as the very basic block styles without detail - the slopes on them are soo great to be viable so some steps are going to be necessary in the finished models.

One bridge could be made into a ground floor ramp of sorts and form a modular staircase rising up to meet buildings. With a little thought, a number of different layouts could be achieved.

These seem to be good options to help make 'platformer' style table layouts. Particularly good for games where line of sight and such are important or skirmish games like Mordenheim.

On another bridge theme though - what if you just want to cross a river? These block models are curved in both the x and y axis but each individual styrene piece is only curved in one axis so its probably as close to a double curved shape as I can make easily. Again with a little thought it's possible to make these into a modular bridge type. And by making the top of the bridge a single storey tall, It will mate with existing buildings to make a grand entrance perhaps...

Welcome also to my latest follower Galpy. Pull up a comfy chair and roast some marshmallows over the fire.

Ho, and indeed, Hum!

2010-07-14T17:57:00.002+01:00

These are the days I dislike.

Well, not so much dislike as ... well I'm not sure.

Since I decided to give this "making and selling things" idea a go about 3 months ago, it's taken up quite a bit of time. Well a LOT of time if truth be told and my wife is asked. Even for what seems like a simple product as I have, each kit still needs designing, prototyping, cutting, instructions writing, display models making, painting and photographing, web site managing, packing and shipping and then there is the ongoing pimping around any and every forum on the interwebbery that will let me log in (and some of them don't).

Not that I'm particularly complaining you understand. Just pointing out that it's not just, "Oh look a new shape of yoghurt pot - lets make a Palace!" and bingo, another product rolls off the production line to fill the coffers at Brandlin Towers.

There are some quiet times.

And this is one of them.

I have three kits out for prototype cutting and am waiting on a restock order too. So until the prototypes return and I have to assemble, paint, photograph and pimp them, fix any snags and order a new batch, I really don't have much to do.

And then it struck me. I should be painting up some figures or reading a new rule set or at the very least reorganising my storage system. But still, I am sat here, writing this to you because I actually can't turn my attention or interest to anything else.

I have Dwarf and Orc armies to paint, a Rogue Trooper project and an ABC warriors one, my beloved Grymn and their drop ship, many old crow vehicles not to mention two Rackham armies all needing paint.

Yet I know that by Friday morning a whole pile of plastic sheet is going to land on my doorstep care of the good old royal mail and I'll be gluing and painting like a trooper to cries from my nearest and dearest of "you're always up there playing with your toy soldiers." So perhaps I had better sign off here and go make the dinner.

Kind of like a pre-emptive apology.

Possible Roofs...

2010-07-12T01:16:00.003+01:00

While I wait for the watchtowers and walls to come back from the laser cutter i thought I'd play about with some very early ideas for the next kits.

These will be simple homesteads. I envisioned a set of three buildings being very modular and interchangeable allowing you to buy a couple of kits and end up with many many different simple buildings.

I was wondering what shapes to make the roofs... A flat one or two would be good, but I fancied doing something a little more unusual too.

These are simple cones but with the point of the cone offset.

These are a simple angled section to create a unusual roof line

A curved roof.

And something odder...

Not sure any of these really grab me...

Suggestions?

B

EDIT : this is the "double cone" image Andres suggests in his comment below.

Regular Slates - New Product

2010-07-11T01:34:00.001+01:00

Following on from a number of requests - most recently from a couple of gamers I met at Gauntlet 2010 (the annual show of the Deeside Defenders - my local club) I have designed a new roof covering for my components range of models.

This product is available to order now and will be shipping by 26th July 2010

This pack of building components consists of TWO 0.5mm thick A4 laser cut sheets.

Each sheet includes strips of regular width slates which can be cut to length and overlapped up a model roof to create a realistic rustic slate or shingle roof effect. Suitable for terrain building in roughly 1:50 scale - suitable for 28mm miniatures.

36 strips of slates capable of covering a roof over 500 square cm. Each slate is 5mm in width (at 1:50 scale thats around 250mm or 10" across ). The lower corners of each slate have a regular small chamfer. The rows of slates overlap by 5 mm up a roof giving a good glue area.

Check out the store for full details.

New store front!

2010-07-10T14:30:00.002+01:00

No sooner did I suggest I was going to move away from e-bay and start selling directly so I could offer better value for money to my customers, than I had a couple of people pointing me at 'free' shopping cart software.

So I thought I'd have a look. I've had my fingers burnt with this stuff before, and I particularly dislike the set ups that need 14 clicks to see a tiny thumbnail of the product whiclst the sceen is cluttered by "other people who bought this also bought tickets to the world cup final and a can of beans" rubbish.

So I was pleased with what I saw at http://www.ecwid.com/ Nice clear "does what it says on the tin" kinda set-up and big, clear, fast-loading pictures. I am very impressed for free.

One evening later and I think I have it all operational. So have a look at the new store front - if you think you see problems then let me know....

You could always spend some money while you are there :)

Big progress and Wall Name Needed!

2010-07-10T02:21:00.002+01:00

A big step this evening on the next batch of kits. I have finished the initial lay up of the 2D geometry of three further kits, and have sent them to the laser cutter.

TWF-03 Tew-Fah Bridge
TWF-04 Benan Watchtower
TWF-05 Stockade Wall

They wont get any attention until next week but I hope that by next weekend I shall have prototype kits back and be able to check assembly - and all being well open pre-orders and have the kits available for the first week in august.

However I need a good name for the Stockade wall section. As you can see from the other names, they are all a pun either on the name of a real building structure or on the materials used to create it. In this case the wall is built on a foam-board core.

Suggestions?

Oh I just noticed I have an 87th Follower... Welcome to "Foot of Adhesive Tape" I'd have thought that would make taking your shoe off tricky? Hope you stick around though, and find plenty things of interest for you to adhere to :)

For completeness, these are images of the files that have gone to be cut...

"A Call to Arms" - Review and Interview

2010-07-09T17:15:00.000+01:00

The guys over at "A Call To Arms" (an online hobby e-zine - think thats what it is?) have published issue #6 of their 'zine.

In it they feature their experiences in building of a Pryn-Gul tower. They also made the mistake of asking me a few questions, and then published my answers! Go along, have a read and support this small hobby venture.

Thanks to James of A Call to Arms for his honest views and time in doing this... and in his own words.

"The finished product is strongly built and surprisingly professional looking considering I have the dexterity of an amputee hamster."

Now you can't argue with an afflicted rodent can you?

B

Direct Selling and 15% Price Reductions!!

2010-07-08T12:10:00.001+01:00

Sometimes prices do come down!

As well as selling through e-Bay, I am now selling directly using paypal. This means that I am able to sell direct to you cutting out the e-bay costs meaning a price reduction of around 15% to you the customer.

That's a £2 reduction on the Pryn-gul Tower, bringing it down to £12, and a similar reduction on the Haft-Oob Stables making that kit just £10!!

brandlin@btinternet.com

All you need to do is e-Mail me quoting the products you want to buy and telling me your paypal account address, and i'll invoice you as soon as I can, then simply pay me and I shall ship your goods.

All my future kit releases will be priced in the same manner for direct selling. I think this more accurately reflects the true costs of the kits and if things go well then I shall upgrade to a shopping cart system at some time.

If you wish to take advantage of the extra protection that e-Bay provides then I am continuing to sell there at the previous prices, with my 100% feedback. My e-Bay store

Tew-Fah Bridge - Redux

2010-07-07T13:38:00.000+01:00

So I've almost finished the Benan Wachtower and turned my hand to the Stockade walls, and then I realised that to keep this modular the walls really need to be the same length as the Tew-Fah bridge so that they tessellate properly. The size of the bridge itself is defined by the radius of the two arcs under it, and the arcs are defined by the floor heights and the pallisade depth on the watchtower.

So I ended up having to redo the whole bridge!

That might not look too impressive, but now i'm sure it will meet the Benan Watchtower properly so that the railings and the pallisade meet properly.

Each bridge will be sold with one side as railings and one side as pallisade. This gives an idiosyncratic look which i think matches the buildings but also means that it can double as a gateway between two Benan Watchtowers, with the pallisade facing outwards to match the towers and the railings facing inwards. Multiple bridge kits would then enable a bridge to be built with pallisade on each side or railing on each side.

I had to do a bit of a rethink on the magnets position and will have to change the locations on the tower, but now the walls, towers and bridges will all match.

The tricky bit of this was to get it onto a single sheet of A4 styrene! I've *just* managed it, it's an incredibly tight squeeze. It should be OK as long as the closeness of some of the parts doesn't cause heat issues and therefore bending. The fact that this is a single sheet should mean that I can keep the price to around the £5 mark.

I must admit its so much nicer to be doing something with straight sides too! :)

Oh, and the obligatory assembled to a couple of Benan Watchtowers picture.

Sketch-Up files released.

2010-07-07T01:54:00.009+01:00

I have decided to release the 3D CAD files of the kits I make. This will allow customers to download the model, and see how they go together. You will also be able to plan your own layouts and such like.

Each of these files is a Sketch-Up version 7 file. Sketch-Up is a completely free 3D CAD program from Google and is available here. It is by far the most intuitive 3D CAD program I've ever used, and I thoroughly recommend its use.

My Google 3D Warehouse

So, click the link above and download the file, and you can play with it to your heart's content. I'd love to see what you come up with.

Benan Watchtower - 3D view

2010-07-06T14:53:00.003+01:00

After I've created the 2D geometry I put it all back into Sketch-Up, give it some thickness and then reassemble it. That means I find any remaining geometry issues (and there are a couple) but I also get the fully built model to do the assembly instructions from.

It also means I get to do this...

I've not played around with the animation on Sketch-Up but I think it might be useful as another good marketing tool.

As always comments and suggestions welcome.

Benan Watchtower Geometry

2010-07-05T14:44:00.005+01:00

A few hours on the PC and several attempts later and I have laid up the 2D geometry for the Benan Watchtower.

This was a bit of a challenge to get the pieces tessellated onto as small a footprint as possible. The good news is that I've managed to get it onto 1 1/2 sheets of styrene (all 1mm thick) and that means the likely price will be around the same as the Tower.

All I have to do to add the thousands of tiny little fiddly awkward tabs that hold the pieces to the sprue.. thousands and millions of the damned things... You may notice I don't actually like that bit! I get to this point in the kit design, and I feel like I am finished. There is still a long way to go - notably creating the assembly instructions, which are necessary but not fun and it can be soul destroying - especially when you awkward customers then suggest things that would have been great ideas and helpful 4 weeks ago but are now just a pain in the proverbial! Grrrr.... customers!

I shall work up the Geometry for the attaching walls and then send them for the prototype cut together hopefully by the end of the week. An I hope to have both models available for Pre-order by 2nd August.

Gauntlet 2010 - Deeside Defenders

2010-07-05T00:38:00.002+01:00

My local club - Deeside Defenders - held their annual show over the weekend at "Wings" - the Airbus Sports and Social Club at Broughton North Wales. Due to family commitments I was only able to pop along on Sunday afternoon with a bundle of model kits and some panted demo pieces.

Because of work commitments I am almost never able to actually go along to the club to play, but I am always welcomed when I drop in and there was a lot of good conversation , suggestions and feedback, and a number of models exchanged hands for nice crisp folding cash! If anyone who bought kits has feedback, suggestions or any questions then I'm very happy to hear them as I am to have any customer pictures for use in the gallery.

I picked up many ideas for kits - a lot of them different layouts of slates and shingles and roofing, and a few for windows, doors and other building bits, and there was some enthusiasm for the stockade kits I am working on.

Thanks guys for making me welcome, and a big thanks also to the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers (SOTCW) for entertaining my 9 year old son and letting him help the Spanish invade Morocco.

I can thoroughly recommend the club to anyone in the West Cheshire or Flintshire areas.

Haft-Oob Stables - Now shipping early!

2010-07-04T00:48:00.001+01:00

I'm happy to say that I have the pre-ordered Haft-Oob Stables kits in my hands, packed and ready to ship on Monday 5th July. That's a week ahead of the planned release date!

If you ordered this second kit in the range, then it will be in the safe, reliable and efficient hands of the Royal Mail first thing on Monday morning.

I have more of these kits available to buy from the Shop link above.

I've also updated progress on the Coming Soon page. 3D modelling for the Benan Watch Tower and the Stockade Walls are both complete ad I'm well on the way to completing the 2D layout. I hope to have prototypes of these kits being cut by the end of next week.

Oh, and welcome to the 86th follower of my (I can't understand why its not already been Hugo and Booker nominated) blog - ME! It turns out you CAN follow your own blog! - who knew???

Sometimes there is no substitute for a physical mock-up!

2010-07-01T13:06:00.004+01:00

I've spent a half hour or so making a mock-up of the base of the Benan Wtachtower. I dont normally do this on the models - the first time there is a phsical assembly is when i put together the test cut from the laser cutter, but in this instance i wanted to check the access for fitting figures onto the watchtower platform. This mock-up is made from hand cut pieces.

From the CAD geometry I knew that this would be tight but that the figures would fit on the platform, what was less clear was if the figures could be placed between the pillars.

30mm round lipped display bases

The answer is - YES THEY WILL! You have to tip the figure to get it between the pillars and it is a little fiddly but I think worth the effort to keep the overall design of the tower.

The roof shown is the prototype for the stables kit - the watchtower will have the canopy shown in the CAD images, but it shows the versatility of being able to swap roofs should you wish.

Standard 25mm bases

Figures here are Hasslefree Grymn (space dwarfs) on 25mm bases. They are just what I had available and based. No tipping required here.

The final picture shows further options with this kit. As the upper surface of the watchtower is the same diameter as a Pringles tube (in fact it incorporates some sections of Pringles tube to extend the height slightly) a section of tube and therefore parts from the tower or stables kit too can be added to the watchtower to create another unique design.

I don't seem to be able to get away from Pringles tubes do I?

It would also be possible to mount the watchtower platform on the top of such a tube extension and then the canopy on top of that. (I meant to take a picture of that but I have glued the platform down ... doh!)

As always comments, suggestions and your money are greatly appreciated!

Benan Watchtower - Design WIP

2010-06-30T00:01:00.002+01:00

I thought you might like to see some further development on the 3D design of the Benan Watchtower based around a 500ml Ben & Jerry's ice cream tub with a bit of pringles tube thrown in too! I seem unable to get away from Pringles tubes! It turns out that i needed to extend the height of the watchtower and a Pringles tube is exactly the same diameter as the base of the watchtower so its a perfect fit!

I decided to keep with the open hexagonal canopy shape for the watchtower top and to keep the low tech stockade feel rather than a full stone fortress look. The beam work on the tower matches that on the other kits allowing a consistent look to be created.

It took some fiddling to get the dimensions to work properly, but here you can see that the upper surface of the watchtower can fit six 30mm display bases. (note sections of the canopy are removed for clarity). clearly 25mm bases will have more 'wiggle' room.

The Watchtower is configured to meet with the modular Stockade walls at three locations with 120 degree symmetry. This gives a high degree of flexibility in how the kit is assembled.

1. Stand alone watchtower

You are able to build a stand alone watchtower with wooden palisade fencing all round and a trapdoor assembly in the roof of the tower. This gives three 'sentry points' around the tower that will accommodate figures.

2. Single Wall Tower
A watchtower attached to a single wall section - perhaps a forward lookout tower on a larger structure. This could be impressive with a Tew-Fah bridge replacing the Stockade Wall, with the bridge spanning a small river but connecting the watchtower to a building or fort on the other side.

3. In-Wall Tower

A tower that connects to a pair of stockade walls forming perhaps a fort wall. When built with this configuration the watchtower has a balustrade to the inside of the corner - it seems health and safety requirements reach into the fantasy realm too!

The final redesign of the Tew-Fah bridge will also be swappable for any of the stockade wall sections, allowing a bridge (or with the optional conversion) a gate to be incorporated into the design.

The tower and wall kits will be available separately and will be held together with magnets allowing a flexible range of stockades and buildings to be put on the tabletop.

Finally an exploded image of all the 107 components in the watchtower. The blue part is the ice cream tub, and the green are Pringles tube, the remaining parts are all styrene.

Of course the canopy and pillars can be omitted to give a simpler structure, and will assemble to other buildings with a little conversion work.

So, what material should I cover the canopy in? Slates/shingles or simple planked wood. (Or is it important to give you an option of both?)

While this kit will not be as complex as the shingled roofs of the tower and stables or the helical stair case, it is going to use a lot of styrene so I may struggle to get it into 2 sheets of A4 styrene and therefore it may become more expensive. If I had to sacrifice some element(s) of the design to keep the cost reasonable - what would you lose?

I really do want your comments on this design - the more the merrier before I start to lay this out for the Cutter. Some of the decisions made on this kit will effect sizes on the walls, bridge and any other associated future kits. So it pays to get them right now!

When I wasn't looking earlier today, another soul decided to follow the lucid and insightful missives on my blog. Welcome to the genius that is "The Bearded Snot" :)

Slight Delay, Price Reductions and Custom Shingles.

2010-06-29T11:21:00.006+01:00

Slight Delay to Haft-Oob Stables Pre-Orders Shipping

I was hoping to have the Haft-Oob Stables released today, a couple of weeks ahead of the date I advertised in the pre-orders. However I have found a small error in the geometry for the handrail meaning it wont fit the staircase spindles correctly. It is possible to 'fudge' the fit with a bit of work with a drill or craft knife, but I think if you've paid for a kit, you deserve to have that kit go together properly.

I have ordered a set of new handrails to be cut, and shall slip one into each of the kits later this week and dispatch them. I still expect to get these kits out before the 12th July as advertised.

Price Reduction and Direct Selling

The costs of using e-bay are a fair proportion of the kits price and I am finding that "word of mouth" and "word of blog" are more effective marketing tools, so I have decided to also sell directly rather than just through e-bay. This will allow me to maintain an e-bay presence for people who browse and come across my stuff there but also to sell directly to people at a more competitive price.

For the Pryn-Gul Tower this will amount to almost a 15% reduction and bring the price down to £12 + p&p. Clearly if you still wish to benefit from the extra protective measures that e-bay provides you can order through there.

Prices on the full range will be posted here next week. All you'll have to do is email me, tell me what you want and let me know your paypal address and I shall invoice you. I shall continue to only take paypal payments.

Custom Shingles

I have had a lot of interest in the slates and shingles products that I am selling, with a number of people asking for regular and irregular widths and different edge treatments and scales.

So I am looking to undertake a small number of commissions to create differing roof treatments. I shall add a custom section to the website describing the possibilities and the process later this week. In the meantime e-mail me if you have something in mind.

... and finally welcome to Griffit my 84th follower... its hard to believe 84 of you are interested in what I have to say. Just another dozen or so of you and I think I can start a religion and plan for Pringles tube domination of the world!!!

Coming Soon - progress chart

2010-06-24T10:28:00.003+01:00

In an attempt to give you an idea of what building kits I have in progress and when they might be available I've put together this chart.

I'll update it on around a weekly basis, or if there is any significant progress, but I wont be publishing it here on the news section - it will be on the "Coming Soon" link above. If you read this blog through an RSS feed or similar then you wont be notified when it changes but it will always be there for you to come and read.

Dates shown are estimates so I cannot guarantee that they will be accurate but they are what I am working to.

Hope that helps answer a few questions I have been getting recently!

Gobber Inspiration

2010-06-23T14:30:00.005+01:00

Today's building inspiration are a set of three models made by Mike who owns World of Twilight, made for his WarMachine Gobbers (which her reliably informs me are gobblins)

Great over the top cartoon style and pretty good colouring in too!

Assembly Instructions

2010-06-23T14:07:00.002+01:00

I completed the comprehensive assembly instructions for the Stables kit today and am waiting for the production run of kits to reach me.

The instructions I provide with the kits are very comprehensive - I don't see the point in selling you a kit that you cannot put together (that doesn't mean that some bits aren't tricky or require three thumbs!)The instructiosna re provided in PDF form to keep costs down so you can download them and refer to them on your computer or just print off the bits you want.

Here is a teaser of the 14 pages of instructions complete with sprue layouts, photographs, CAD images painting advice and templates to help you make optional changes.

I am proof-reading the instructions now they are available on the "Instructions" Tab abovebut may change a bit until the end of the week.

B.

First Customer Review

2010-06-21T14:25:00.001+01:00

I was pleased to see a review of my Pryn-Gul Tower kit on the World of Twilight Forum yesterday. Posted by Emberbreeze I have recreated his post with permission in full below.

Well, having got one of Brandlins towers and finally finished building it tonight I thought I'd stick a couple of photos up and give you my thoughts.

Firstly I've done a quick and dirty assembly of the tower, not much in the way of trimming etc. and I have to say I'm still happy with the results. There are some gaps and crooked bits, but that is my assembly not the kit and I made a few mistakes/misreading of instructions before getting the hang of it (always wanting to build not read instructions)

Best bits for me are:
The balcony, which went together really well, is very solid and looks great
The roof tiles, which took minutes to do and look fantastic!
All the details, like the windows and the etching on the doors for adding something extra which would take ages from scratch

Things I'd change:
The top of the roof structre (the cone the tiles are stuck to). I would follow advice I was given {in the assembly instructions - Brandlin} and make my own in card as it is more flexible and the plastic one supplied takes ages to glue and both of mine were a bit skew (not nessesarily a bad thing on a ramshakle roof)
I'd follow the instructions and build the leanto and boxout correctly
I'd glue the doorway arches at the same time as the pillars to avoid any gaps.

Overall, things like having all the beams cut to length is really just convenient, and would save a bit of time from doing it yourself, but things like the roof and all the details are massive timesavers and add something special to a typical building I'd do at home without a kit. I've got the stables on order and looking forward to the staircase which again is something which would take hours (days even) from scratch and not the minutes I'm expecting from the kit, and would almost certainly not look as good either.

If like me your terrible at finishing projects then this is for you, I've got a detailed tower (which still needs some paint) in less than 4 hours (within my attention span!) and for not very much money.

There are more pictures on Emberbreezes original post. Thanks !

I'll take on board the couple of comments about the assembly instructions and make improvements.

Kit Contents

2010-06-18T14:35:00.005+01:00

I was asked earlier today to see what is actually in the building kits. I have shown pictures of the Laser Cut CAD files before but they are buried on the blog in old posts. So I have added the kit contents page above...

I also added up the number of components in each kit and was surprised...

Haft-Oob Stables - 144 Pieces
Pryn-Gul Tower - 202 Pieces!

Hope that helps.

Watchtower and Stockade Walls - Concept

2010-06-17T14:32:00.003+01:00

I am planning a watchtower (built around a ben and Jerry's ice cream tub) and stockade walls to join them. I've shown some earlier sketches of these before but I have been doing more work on making them buildable.

The design intent is to make a stockade rather than a fortress. Walls and towers that provide security and defence against wild animals or perhaps troll-sized monsters. Built from rammed earth or stone sloped walls topped with beam and stucco constructed upper walls and with vertical planked palisades. These are not structures that would survive the advent of gunpowder, or stand against seige machines! All the Walls have walkways which meet the watch tower tower tops.

Firstly the watchtower. This image doesn't have the random width plank edged top to the walls facing outwards. It does show the railing on the inside of the tower. I think I'll provide this with enough railing and planking to run around the circumference of the tower so oyu can use it stand alone either as a lookout or a fortified tower.

Next are the wall sections. Again showing an external planked defencive upper wall and a railing for health and safety on the inner wall. I may put some battlements into the planked uprights, what do you think?

I'm imagining these walls with the lower "beams" on the slope painted as stone and the panels filled with small gravel to look like flint. Then the upper section painted to match the buildings with wooden beams and stucco between.

I have also reworked the Tew-Fah Bridge which was one of my first prototypes so that it better fits with these structures. I'm also working on some additions which will turn the bridge into a gateway allowing it to fit within the stockade walls.

... and some group shots showing what I am aiming for. As with all the kits I'm aiming for modularity and interchangability, so the watchtower roovs can be replaced with say the slate roofs from the Pryn-Gul Tower or Haft-Oob stables. The Tew-Fah Bridge will also meet the third floor on the Pryn-Gul tower, the bridge can also be used with or withough the gates etc.

Finally a couple of more indulgent group shots :)

Anyway, thats thethinking behind the next FOUR kit releases. Watchtower, Stockade Wall, Few-Fah Bridge and Gate conversion.

As always comments and suggestions welcome!

B.

Quar Inspiration!

2010-06-17T01:55:00.005+01:00

I recently saw some comments passed on another internet site about my building kits which suggested they might be suitable for use with the Quar figures from ZombieSmith.

I've been a long time admirer of the Quar range but have never quite got round to buying any, so I tootled over to the ZombieSmith Forum and said "Hi!".

Josh (Head Zombie) was kind enough to show me his idea of a Quar house - This is what he refers to as a sketch.. !

I love the idea of the building being carved out of a giant termite-mound/ant-hill with extensions added on as necessary. This set my mind racing on all sorts of possibilities for future building kits and models. I'll probably add further inspirational pictures in time but feel free to leave our own suggestions too.

For those of you not in the know, this is a Quar. Think WWI aardvarks ;)

Thanks to Josh and the others on his forum for the flow of ideas. And my congratulations to Josh on his wedding this weekend!!

The pictures remains (c)opyright ZombieSmith.

B.

Blog Changes

2010-06-16T16:02:00.000+01:00

Blogger has undergone a number of changes recently which means it is now possible to take greater control over the layout, look and feel of blogs. I shall be trying to take advantage of this to make changes and improvements to my blog over the coming couple of days.

Principally I want to

Expand the width of the blog and particularly the posting area to allow bigger and better pictures.
Re-organise the layout of materials on the main page so it's easier to get to stuff
Align the style of the Blog and the style of the materials for the lasercut building range

Please bear with me while i make these changes - it may mean that the blog looks a little odd at times until the weekend .

Regards

Brandlin.

Haft-Oob Stables available to PRE-ORDER

2010-06-14T11:44:00.002+01:00

Today I have made the Haft-Oob Stables kit available for pre-order. Click on the big laser cut kits logo overe there>>> for more details, or go straight to my e-bay pages to buy.

Following the positive comments received from showing the prototype assembly and painted model, kits have been sent for cutting and will be available for shipping by the 12th July latest. This is to comply with e-bay's regulations on pre-orders, but kits may be available earlier.

In additon to this new building kit, I am also releasing more in the range of Building components. This time Clay / Concrete Roof Tiles with a curved edge (BCS-02). Again, available for shipping by 12th July at the latest.

I am also restocking the Slates and shingles random width building components. Available 12th July latest.

Another three lost souls seem to have stumbled in here and decided to stay so welcome to Jack of all Games, Crown Brear and Gyro. Stick around pass comment and spend money guys (and gals) :)

Stables Promotional Model Unveiled

2010-06-08T09:31:00.006+01:00

The promotional and display model for the Stables kit is now complete. This is the second model in the range and will be available as a kit in July. Scaled to match heroic 28mm figures, the stairway and landing accept a 30mm round lipped display base.

The first kit, the Pryn-Gul Tower is available to buy by clicking on the Laser Cut Kits Logo >>>

Finally a teaser shot of the models to date. The bridge and larger building are prototypes and will go into production in due course.

Stables roof WIP

2010-06-07T14:52:00.005+01:00

Just a teaser picture of the paint job on the roof of the new stables kit. The rest of the model is painted, just the grain on the extensive amount of woodwork to go!

I'm hoping to finish this and have the snags on the kit corrected and available by the start of July. I'll be offering pre-orders on this kit in the next couple of weeks.

Another three more followers to the blog - welcome Lord of Excess, TredHed and Doctor Warlock.- I hope you find plenty you like, and say so. Comment and constructive criticism is always welcome here.

Painting and Finishing Guide

2010-06-02T16:47:00.005+01:00

Whilst at Salute 2010 I was asked a number of times about the paint job I had used on the Pryn-Gul Tower. I've always thought of myself as a competent painter rather than a good one or a professional, so I was quite flattered. Spurred on by this and subsequent comments on the pictures of the tower on the internet I have put fingers to keyboard and written a painting and finishing guide for the buildings.

Painting & Finishing Guide (PDF 4.2Mb)

I wont win a golden demon for my painting nor a Nobel Prize for Literature for the guide, but this is the way I do it.

If any of you talented painters and model makers out there have anything suggestions of improvements then please let me know!

Also welcome to yet more new followers of my ramblings on this blog. So a big hello to the vowel-less twrchtrwyth, the dreadded ogryn and Charlie.

A stables is born II

2010-06-01T11:00:00.002+01:00

I managed to fix the handrail by drilling new holes for the railings. Its not perfect, the helical shape is actually pretty complex, as well as being curved it twists but i think this will be ok.

Next stop paint...

And hello to 5... count them FIVE new followers... this is silly its almost like I'm the popular kid in school! Hi to Feldherr FigureCases, Philfy, Andres Villaseca, laughingferret and sikil.

A stable is born...

2010-05-31T14:33:00.005+01:00

I finished the assembly of the Stables prototype kit today, so I thought I would post a few pictures. As is typical with prototypes i have a list of improvements and snags to fix... but this list is 27 items long! so quite a bit to fix.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that I haven't added the dreaded helical handrail. I made a complete mess of designing it and put the wrong number of railing holes in it and made it too short - must have been an off day!

I'm also not happy with the main door to the ground level stables - its too low, so I shall redesign it to lift the apex of the gable end up a cm or two above the horizontal railing - that way a mounted figure can actually get in!

I'm pleased with the dormer window though and the structure of the stairs and top railing is very strong and solid.

And a final picture with the stucco/render texture applied.

As always comments and suggestions are very welcome!

Hello to Andy and Krasnopalcy our 64th and 65th followers. Welcome, make yourself comfortable,there's beer in the fridge and plenty of pringles... dont throw the tubes away though :)

Stables WIP I

2010-05-29T01:07:00.003+01:00

Welcome to three new followers... a record for a single day around here... i'm almost becoming popular! Hi to Lord Abbaddon of Wormwood and Nick and Ragados. I hope you find much to make you buy stuff! :)

Along with all the Pryn-Gul Tower kits and sheets of shingles I alos had a couple of sets of prototype kits for TWF-02 codenamed "Stables" cut, and I couldn't resist starting to put them together tonight.

I'm certainly pushing the cutter and the material further on this kit than I did on the Pryn-Gul Tower. What surprised me was how well the stairway went together. A few minor teething problems and I need to allow a little more in the geometry for losses in the laser but this went together remarkably well.

The doorway Is double the width of the one on the Pryn-Gul Tower, and is supposed to be a stable door. But squeezing it into just one storey height has left it too short - so a re-think needed there. Have to find space on the sheet to make it taller - already a bit cramped!

here you can see the intricate treads and risers with curved supports under the stairs... I'm quite proud of that!

Available Now.

2010-05-28T12:31:00.001+01:00

Thanks to some speedy Royal Mail delivery I have the kits in my hands NOW, and have just put them up on eBay and they are available to buy NOW!!!!!!!!!

Just click on the subtle laser cut kits logo over there >>>

:)

Countdown

2010-05-26T14:58:00.005+01:00

Well it seems as though my first order of laser cut building kits is in the hands of the Royal Mail and I am expecting them this week.

Brandlin Towers has been converted into a packing and posting station and all family members are equipped with sticky tape.

Starting small I have 20 PrynGul Tower kits and 12 sheets of slates/shingles to sell, and expect to have them on eBay on Monday 31st May.

To support this there are some more pages going up on this blog which you'll see by clicking the very subtle laser cut kits image over there>>>

Bear with me for a few final days while I sort out the last bits and pieces.

These kits are designed in association with the World of Twilight game and they have a fancy-schmancy new forum for discussion of the game, the figures and my scenery.

Oh, and welcome to my latest follower FantasyFish - you picked a good time to come and join the party I think!

Twilight Scenery XX - Watchtower

2010-05-24T00:58:00.001+01:00

Whilst waiting on the first production cuts for the PrynGul Tower and the Prototype Stables I started work on potnentially third kit in the series... The Benan Watchtower

Based on a 500ml Ben and Jerry's ice cream tub. the butress will attach to either fortified walls and walkways - Yet to be designed or the end of the Tew-Fah Bridge. still a lot to detail - beam work, hatches, doorway, roof cladding etc.

I don't know when it will be finished or how much it will be yet! (everyone always asks those two questions!)

Twilight Scenery XIX - Assembly Instructions

2010-05-14T14:46:00.000+01:00

"So, what's so fascinating about assembly instructions then?"

"err... well nothing really!"

Except of course, I am sure we've all had a kit where a lack of clarity in the instructions has left us scratching our heads or swearing at the box that "there's a bit missing!"

So, I thought.. I have all the geometry for the Building Kits in CAD, I must be able to do pretty good assembly instructions just by exploding the model, and taking snap shot pictures of various sctions and publishing them in a pdf file for people to download.

Simple!

Well, its not quite that simple, but I thought I'd share some look and feel. This is a sample image of the construction of the "Bump-Out" section of the Pryn-Gul Tower building.

Click this LINK to see a 2 page sample of the
instructions in pdf format. (note: 1Mb file)

Now I have the process sorted its only slow rather than glacially slow...

Baby steps...

Grymn Flier - DIY

2010-05-11T00:16:00.001+01:00

2 posts in one day! Welcome to new followers David Drage and MacVurrich - dont get used to multiple posts in one day - i'll never keep it up - but have fun anyway!

I've been meaning to do this for about a year and today i finally got round to it.

I'm hoping for the release of fliers and grav bikes from Hasslefree miniatures and fenris games, and I believe there is more planned from Old Crow too! But in the eantime I decided to make a DIY version.

This is my simple view of a single seat strike craft, small, maneuverable, agile and mobil enough to be operated from a forward mechanised unit and a temporary airfield.

EDIT: sorry the pictures are a bit grainy these are from my phone. Will post more when I get a chance.

Its not finished! It needs landing gear, plenty of small finishing details and some weapons. I was thinking wingtip mounted air to air missiles with 2-4 air to ground missiles side mounted/underslung. I don't think such a craft would have an underslung remote cannon but some small fixed forward machine guns would enable good infantry strafing opportunities.

This was pretty simple, and consisted of amalgamating a parts from a couple of Revel easy snap fit Sar Wars kits. I have enough to make another pair of these. Will finish all three before deciding on a paint scheme.

B