Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter - Revell Easykit

When I started this blog my son was around two years old. A two year old can be delightful and tons of fun - my daughter is two and she's endlessly entertaining - but the toys of two year olds are, well, rather simplistic. Now that my son is four and a half he's started to get really cool toys for the first time - toys he'll actually play with and we can both enjoy together. So let's take a look at the first one:

This is Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter from the Revell Easykit range. These kits come pre-painted and the idea is that they just slot together without the need for glue. As T is a little too young to have the dexterity to put something like this together, I did it for him, and I must admit I glued a few of the major parts together - I suppose it's just habit!

Overall this is a neat little range and I imagine for older kids this is a great way to get them into the model building hobby. It's a short and satisfying project with a reasonable result - from this particular kit at least. The paint job is fine on the ship but the tiny pilot looks quite crap so I was tempted to leave him out. But hey, this isn't my toy!

I was also tempted to give the thing a spray and have a go at giving it a proper paint job. But again, this isn't my toy so I'll have to wait until I get one myself, or I can convince T to let me give it a shot. I was also thinking about how this might be converted into a very cheap alternative to Forge World's Chaos Hell Blade fighter. The scale though isn't quite right and it's not as if I need another crazy project to distract me right now!

Building New Hobbyists: Getting The Kids Painting

I was sad to miss the Oldhammer event this weekend, so I set about doing a few things to make up for it. The first was to spend some time letting my kids join in with my hobby. My son has painted a little before, but it was a first for my daughter, and we all took turns base coating some Chaos Space Marines. I was pretty impressed with the care and attention that they took - just look at the concentration on my daughter's face! I think that when I get the chance I may pick up a few new cheap models - I'm thinking Termagaunts - and see what they can do totally on their own (my son mostly, with a little guidance). Next weekend we'll try some basic gaming.

                   

                 

"Daddy, Can We Read The Eldar Book At Bedtime Instead Of The Hobbit?"

Parenting is the greatest job / pastime / endless commitment / cure for boredom in the world. And sometimes your kids can totally blindside you and make it even better. Not only is my four year old son totally engrossed in The Hobbit at the moment (we've just read the barrels escape bit) he also likes to mix up his bedtime reading with the odd codex or army book. Today it was the new Eldar codex. I think I might've spawned the perfect hobbyist. 

Plague Hulk Underway

Where oh where are the new Greater Daemons? I've been told the old ones feature in the new books so what does that mean other than a potential long wait for the new models to arrive? Boo GW, BOO!

So for now my Plague Hulk will have to be my Nurgle army centrepiece. I suppose that as far as replacements go, this is a beauty. Albeit a very, very dirty beauty. Here you can see that I've base coated and begun using the shades/washes to build up colour. I'm going to use the fabulous new Fuegan Orange right across all my Nurgleites, bringing a solid theme to the rusty bits without resorting to tubs of dust (weathering powder), which really isn't my scene. As you can see, my daughter is starting to take an interest in Daddy's toys...

Help For Parents Explaining The Zombie Apocalypse To Their Kids

Absolutely love this! (From Bloody-Disgusting's facebook page).

Hobbit Hole Playhouse, Yes Son, You *Do* Want One

Just came across these very cool Hobbit Hole style playhouses here. Now... how do I convince my wife that our kids really need one of these? (And how can I get her to believe that it will fit in the garden of our terraced house?!)

Child for scale illustration purposes only

Pipe weed, anyone? (Not for the kids though...)